


The Girl Who Fell from the Sky: Act Zero

by Miaka Sukunami (JadedSuperGirl)



Series: The Girl Who Fell from the Sky [1]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Gundam Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Attempted Sexual Assault, Canonical Character Death, Coming of Age, Crossover, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Homelessness, Manipulative Professor G, Non-Graphic Violence, Training
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-01 02:54:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13285452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadedSuperGirl/pseuds/Miaka%20Sukunami
Summary: A princess planning to leave for a day trip finds herself literally falling into a world she has no knowledge of even having existed. It just so happens that she lands on top of a street rat about to run for his life. Well, at least she found someone to lead her through this confusing world with apparently a major war going on.Wait!Did she just hear right?She's on a colony in space?!





	1. PRÉLUDE

**Author's Note:**

> For those who may have seen this story before, this version is a complete rewrite of the original. I hope everyone enjoys the improvements.
> 
> Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi  
> New Mobile Report Gundam W belongs to the creators Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yatate,  
> Sunrise Studios, TV Asahi & Bandai Entertainment. Illustration by Kōichi Tokita.  
> I own nothing!

**THE GIRL WHO FELL FROM THE SKY: EPISODE ZERO**

By: Miaka Sukunami

Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe.

 

**PRÉLUDE**

 

History has a way of repeating itself in one way or another. Mankind doesn’t seem to learn from their mistakes. When they do happen to learn something, they turn around and make all new mistakes. 

I am not naive. Even as a seven-year-old girl, I knew that making mistakes is what makes us human. It may be fate or a slew of factors that no one can control, but history carries on like a vicious, unending cycle. As the saying goes; we live, and we learn, or ....not.

I’ve heard tales of the Moon Kingdom and its tragic downfall since as far back as I can remember. Once upon a time, my grandmother, Queen of the Moon, presided over an era of peace known as The Silver Millennium. 

The entire galaxy was at peace until a new evil was born from the Chaos Cauldron. Her name was Queen Metalia. The dark Queen was envious of the Moon Queen and her prosperous kingdom. She waited for the most opportune moment to strike.

An opportunity came when the Queen's young daughter fell in love with the Prince of Earth. Metalia corrupted a young woman of Earth named Beryl. This woman was also enamored with the Prince and jealous of the Moon Princess that he was courting. Strife bloomed between the two kingdoms while Beryl fanned the flames of mistrust.

War broke out between the two kingdoms leaving the Moon Kingdom decimated. With the grief of losing her daughter, my Grandmother gave her life to stop both Queen Metalia and Beryl. The Moon Kingdom and its guardians fell but the Moon Queen was able to give her people the chance to have a new life. The last of her strength was enough to send the people of the Moon to Earth where everyone was reborn.

The endless fight resurfaced when Queen Metalia and Beryl reawakened on Earth. My mother took on the mantle of Sailor Moon to protect her new planet with the Sailor Guardians at her side. 

After countless years of tireless fighting, my parents restored peace to Earth. Mother became known as Neo-Queen Serenity, the founder of Crystal Tokyo, and the focal point of a new era of peace. 

We lived in a Utopia. Everything appeared to be perfect. Yet the balance between light and darkness is always teetering on the brink. The world...no the universe will always need a hero, and I knew that someday the fate of the universe would fall to me. I am the daughter of a legacy. The next in line to something beautiful, greater than my selfish wants and desires. It is a destiny that I reject. Why does it have to be me?

Why am I so jaded you might ask?  Then we should go back to that seven-year-old girl who knew far more than she should have at such a young age. She wanted to change her fate and that of others.

You’ve heard my mother’s story. This one is mine…


	2. ACT ZERO ONE | Unnatural Phenomena! Usa-chan Disappears!

**ACT ZERO ONE | Unnatural Phenomena! Usa-chan Disappears!**

Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe

  
  


I’ll admit, as a child I was a stubborn brat. There were many things I didn’t understand, though, in my young mind, I thought I knew it all. Mother and I disagreed on almost everything. Those disagreements would result in many of my adolescent temper tantrums.

In those moments of prepubescent angst, I was always ill-tempered and frustrated. I never wanted any company, not that it mattered to my guard detail. On my mother’s orders, at least one of my guardians was always supposed to be watching over me at any given time.

In one particularly childish fit, I stormed out of the palace racing as fast as I could go past the gardens. I hunkered down on the first oversized rock I could find in an indignant huff. It didn't help matters that I knew I was being followed.

“Jun, you can come out now. I know you’re there.” I called out in displeasure.

JunJun, emerged from the shadows of some brush looking chagrined. “How’d you know it was me?” 

I shook my head before informing her, “PallaPalla is too noisy for stealth. CereCere is busy with Minako, and I heard VesVes is sick with the flu.”

“Sorry, Usa” she repented.

I sighed, accepting the apology. I couldn’t be angry with her. Jun is the only one aside from my mother that uses my given name. It's not ‘Small Lady’, ‘Princess’, or the customary ‘Your Highness’ with her. To Jun, I’m not the princess. I am her friend.

“How many times Jun? How many times do I have to tell her that I don’t need a babysitter?” I shouted, surging up from my rock again in a fit of anger and startling a couple of birds in the process.

“I’m sure your Mama only wants what’s best for you,” she said with an air of caution in her voice.

I glared at her.

“Just sayin’.” JunJun defended, raising her hands up in mock surrender.

“Sometimes I wish I was back in the twentieth century. Mom was a lot more fun back then.”

“Your Mama is still plenty cool. The difference is that back in the twentieth century she was your friend and now she’s your mother.”

“Ugh! I don’t need a lecture from you too!” I snapped in frustration.

“After everything, I’ve done and been through, why am I still treated like a child?”

“You’re only what, seven? Eight?” she asked me in that patronizing tone that grates on my nerves.

I glared at her again, “Don’t patronize me! Everyone seems to want to remind me that I’m only seven! I’m not some naïve little girl anymore.”

A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips and she shrugged her shoulders at me as she sat down at the foot of my rock. All pretenses aside, Jun is the only one to tell it like it is. She is as blunt as they come and she spared me no sympathy.

“Fact of the matter is,  _ brat _ , you are a little girl no matter which way you put it.”

“I want to go back!” I ranted, cutting her off. “I’m tired of sitting here doing a whole lot of nothing. I hate home studies and being stuck here all the time followed around by a guard detail. In the twentieth century, I had friends! I was useful as a Sailor Scout. Why won’t she let me go and continue my training?”

“The Queen has her reasons, I’m sure. These temper tantrums aren’t going to do you any favors. Relax and enjoy being a kid.”

I let out a frustrated growl, “I can’t enjoy being a kid if I’m confined here to the palace. If she’d allow me to go to a real school and make friends my own age things would be different.”

“You know...some kids would kill to be in your shoes. They wouldn't be sitting here bellyaching.”

“I would trade places in a heartbeat...” I muttered.

JunJun chuckled and stretched out on the lush grass. She tucked one arm tucked behind her head, and the other shielded her eyes from the hot sun. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you to be careful what you wish for?”

I snorted, “Yeah, I’m sure I must have heard that somewhere.”

“Aw, come on,” she cajoled. “Stop pouting. Why don’t we go out somewhere?”

“Out?” I asked, eyeing her dubiously. Jun has a very interesting sense of humor and I had no idea what to expect, “out where?” She propped herself up on her elbows and grinned up at me. “I don’t know. Out. Anywhere is fine. I can understand being a little claustrophobic around here. So, why don’t we go for a ride on my bike and see if we can find something to do for the day?” “Really? You mean it?” I asked thrilled at the chance to get out of the palace. “Yeah. Get a move on before I change my mind, Kid.” “Yes!” I exclaimed with a squeal of delight.  I was already up and running back to the palace as Jun chuckled at my excitement. I flew across the lawn feeling giddy. An outing was exactly what I needed. Permission to venture out of the palace was an uncommon thing for me. My moments away from home have not been normal. You see, I have the ability to travel through time with the help of a special key. Few can say that they were able to travel back in time and meet their own parents in their teenage years. It was a weird experience, but I enjoyed my time in the past. I wasn’t bound by the same rules as I am here. I was still running full tilt as I came into the palace entrance bowling over Ceres in the process. We collided and fell back on our respective bottoms with papers fluttering everywhere. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” I said immediately.

She caught her breath and blinked in disbelief.

“This is not very ladylike behavior,” Ceres scolded, shaking her head at me. “You shouldn’t be running around indoors, young lady. Oh, just look at this mess...”

Ceres stood, taking a moment to brush herself off before offering her hand to help me. I bit my lip, looking completely embarrassed as I accepted her help. She hauled me back on my feet and fixed me with a disapproving frown.

I continued to look contrite as we bent to the task of gathering up all the scattered documents. I hastened to gather up as many as I could and handed them back to her.

“I’m really, really, sorry about this CereCere. I have to go.” I said before she could start lecturing me about my manners.

I turned and started sprinting for the spiral staircase with Ceres calling after me. “Wait! Where are you going?”

Not missing a step, I turned and waved, “Jun and I are going for a ride on her motorbike!” I shouted back.

“Usa!”

“Sorry, Ceres! Gotta go!”

I continued up the stairs leaving a bewildered Ceres behind. I had to hurry. If my mother found out what Jun and I were up to, we’d never get off the palace grounds! My room was not far from the landing at the top of the stairs. I took a left and burst through the third door down the hall startling my cat, Diana, who was napping in my bed. She yelped, only narrowly avoiding falling off.

“Hey! What is going on?” Diana exclaimed as I started to change clothes.

“We are going out!” I replied while reaching into the closet again, this time for my backpack and jacket.

“Out? Do your parents know about this, Usa?”

I rolled my eyes at the feline, “Why do they have to know? It’s not like I’m going out by myself. You’ll be with me and so will JunJun. All we're doing is going out for a drive on her bike.”

I picked out a practical outfit; a quarter-sleeve pullover and jeans. The clothing choice would be comfortable and help keep me warm if it got windy on the motorcycle. While it was not the proper kind of attire for a princess, but appropriate for the situation. Don’t get me wrong, I like the organza, the lace, and the occasional frou-frou dress, but sometimes simple is nice too.

Within the last year or so, I experienced a bit of a growth spurt. I shed some of the excess baby fat for a more defined and slender frame. My hair is one of my more striking features given its cotton-candy shade. It took on a life of its own with more volume than I could tame.

These subtle changes created by the ticking clock combined with my rare crimson eyes reveal an image that is not soon forgotten... an image of pink and red, a color combination that, fortunately, seems to work for me.

“Is that even safe?” Diana asked skeptically.

I moved toward my dresser, and from her perch among my pillows, her gaze followed me across the room.

“You’re beginning to sound like Luna.” I quipped with a smirk on my face as I picked up my hairbrush, “Don’t you want to come with us?”

Diana looked at me aghast. “I do not sound like my Mum! And of course, I’m going. I have to keep you out of trouble.”

“I think I can keep myself out of trouble on a simple day trip, Diana. Besides, Jun will be there.” I replied, sounding put out.

“Trouble is your middle name, Usa. It follows you.” Diana intoned as though she’d been waiting for ages to deliver that line.

I rolled my eyes at the absurdity and finished brushing my hair. With the job done I stored the brush into the front pocket of my backpack.

“It’s a good thing I have you then isn’t it?” I admitted while scooping her right off the bed. I unceremoniously dropped her into her usual unzipped pocket of my bag. From there she was able to poke her head and front paws out from the opening. “You okay in there?”I asked while shrugging on the backpack. “You bet!” Diana responded. Feeling lighthearted for the first time in weeks, I got ready to leave. My hand was already on the door jamb when a dark shadow cast over the bedroom.

“What’s going on out there?” I murmured, walking back over to the window where the curtains were still open.

It had been sunny outside moments before. The light from the window had brightened the whole room. Diana peered over my shoulder, half climbing out of the bag, and scoped at the scene for herself.

“Looks like a storm is rolling in. This trip may not be such a good idea right now,” she ascertained.

“There weren’t any storm clouds out there before.” I protested as we saw lightning flash in the distance. I yelped and shied away from the window. Thunder and lightning always scare me. The ominous clouds seemed to be everywhere. They crept across the sky like a gray sea, roiling in lighting. I watched as people down below sought shelter from the coming storm and sighed. “I hate the rain. Somebody up there, somewhere, must really hate me.” I grumbled. “This can’t be normal.”

Diana climbed the rest of the way onto my shoulder and licked my cheek, “That’s not true. We’ll have to stay indoors today and reschedule with JunJun some other time.”

Through the disappointment, I could still see that Diana was right. There would be other days. We left the room with the intention of finding my friend. I spotted the green-haired woman on her way up the stairs as we stepped into the hallway. “Hey!” she called. “Looks like we’ll have to take a rain check on that bike ride.” “Yeah,” I agreed, leaning over the banister to reply, “Maybe, tom...” A loud crash of thunder shook the castle with the force of an earthquake cutting me off.  I heard JunJun’s warning shout the moment the floor beneath me began to crack. The banister buckled under our weight and pitched Diana and me into open air shrieking in horror. We were falling and there was nothing I could do to stop it. There was nothing to grab onto.

Another terrifying crash of thunder shook the castle, muting my screams. I braced myself for the worst, but before we could hit the ground a flash of bright, blinding light engulfed us both.

 

À suivre...


	3. ACT ZERO TWO | Usa-chan, The Mysterious Girl Falls from the Sky!

ACT ZERO TWO | Usa-chan, The Mysterious Girl Falls from the Sky!  
Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe

 

I shut my eyes tight in anticipation and screamed.

It seemed like I was falling for much longer than I should have been, but for the life of me, I couldn’t imagine why. Not that it mattered...I wasn’t in much of a hurry to go splat.

When I finally collided with something, it wasn’t as hard as the ground should have been. In fact, it was actually quite squishy and warm. I still managed to get the breath knocked out of me and it took me a minute to compose myself.

I was alive!

“Oww! Damn it, lady, will ya get off!” a voice demanded.

Getting over the sheer terror of the fall, I dredged up the courage to open my eyes. Blinking, I took stock of my new surroundings. I was sitting on someone. Someone who appeared to have feminine features.

A girl? I couldn't tell for sure.

We were in the middle of what looked like some sort of open marketplace. It was very loud and busy with people rushing about in every direction. No one seemed to have taken notice my sudden appearance. Except of course the unsuspecting victim that I was currently sitting on.

The owner of the voice shoved at me trying to get my attention. “Come on, come on! Get off! We gotta go!”

For a moment, I stared at him in awe. It was a boy. The long mane of chestnut colored hair had been deceiving at first. The boy’s clothes were very nondescript and gender neutral. He wore a tattered oversized t-shirt tied off at the waist, a pair of threadbare shorts and some beat up loafers. The most interesting thing about the boy was his eyes. I’d never seen eyes quite that shade of violet before.

He shoved at me again and I started to move as a yowling Diana fell, sending us into another crumpled heap. Grabbing hold of my terrified cat, I scrambled off of him. The boy stood, looking around in desperation. A loud bellow set him into motion again. His eyes widened once he found what he was looking for. Grabbing a large burlap sack from the ground, he reached for my hand.

“Let’s go! If that guy catches us we’ll be in big trouble!”

“You thief! Come back with that food!” a man roared.

Turning to see where the shouts were coming from, my eyes widened as well. A large, burly man carrying a bat was making his way toward us. He looked like a charging rhino as he roughly pushed through the crowd.

I gasped.

What kind of trouble had I fallen into?

“What do you mean we?” I asked the boy in disbelief, “I am not a thief!”

“He's seen ya with me!” the boy explained in a rush. “He ain't gonna believe ya aren't in on it too.”

"In on what?!"

The boy's only response was to yank my hand once more. This time I followed without protest. We both broke into a run with Diana holding on for dear life.

“You can send the bill to the Alliance!” the brunette calls back over his shoulder with an impish grin. I had to wonder if he was goading the massive beast of a man on purpose.

“To HELL with you, boy!” the vendor hollers and I could hear the gasps and protests of people as he barreled through.

We kept running. It was a miracle Diana didn’t fall off of her perch on my head while we ducked and weaved through the crowd in the market. It was lucky that the market was busy which hindered the larger man from getting through to us. I’m almost completely certain that this was the boy’s intention.

We were smaller and much faster which worked to our favor. It wasn't long before the angry shouts of the vendor died away. We were able to slip into an alley at a safe distance and stopped running. I doubled over, bracing my hands on my knees as I caught my breath a second time.

“What...” I said between breaths, “what exactly is going on? Why was that man chasing us and called you a thief?”

Violet Eyes gave me a cheesy grin and he scratched the back of his head. “Well, I kind of borrowed some food from that vendor in the market.”

I raised an eyebrow at him, “Borrowed? How does anyone borrow food? You can’t give it back once you eat it! Why didn’t you pay him?”

He frowned at me and crossed his arms, looking like I’d insulted some sort of honor code. “I’ll pay him back someday. Besides, I didn’t take that much. That old codger won’t even miss this food.”

I mimicked his pose and shook my head at his logic. “You couldn’t ask your parents for the money?”

“Parents?” he laughed, “I haven’t got any parents.”

“What do you mean? Someone has to be taking care of you. A guardian, then.” I persisted, shocked to hear that this boy who couldn’t be much older than me was all alone in the world.

“Nope. We take care of ourselves,” the brunette said in a matter-of-fact tone. He glanced around the corner to make sure we weren't followed.

"We?" I wondered aloud, but the boy wasn't listening anymore. He seemed to be debating if it was safe to leave.

“So what are we supposed to do now?” I asked when he turned to look at me again.

Instead of answering my question, he changed the subject with a question of his own. “What is that on top your head?”

Diana meowed plaintively from her perch on my head. I reached up for the cat and cuddled her in my arms while we both eyed the boy nervously.

“This is Diana, my cat,” I replied in disbelief that this boy had never seen a cat. “Haven’t you ever seen one before?”

“Never this close.” He said giving me a strange look. “Yer not from around here are ya?”

“Um, no,” I admitted.

“Well, come on then. I gotta get back before dark and ya shouldn’t stay out here by yerself,” said the boy. He took my hand once again and we continued walking.

“Where are we going?” I queried while placing Diana back into my bag where she would be safer. It looked like she wanted to protest, but I knew she wasn’t going to talk in front of strangers.

“You’ll see,” was all he said while leading me on through the back alleys.

I had no other choice but to follow. Where else was I going to go if I didn't even know where I was? The various back alleys all started to look the same to me. The neighborhood was dirty, rundown, with the distinct smell of rancid garbage. I didn’t think I’d be able to figure out how to get back to the market if I tried. It didn’t help matters that it was starting to get dark.

“Oi, Kid!” a voice called out to us in the growing darkness.

I froze watching as another boy approached us. It made me anxious, but it seemed like my new friend was well acquainted.

“Hey, Solo!”

The boy called Solo, smirked, and placed an arm around ‘Kid’s’ shoulder, “How was the market today?”

Kid seemed genuinely proud to hold up his burlap sack. “I think I did alright. I was on my way back to the hideout now.”

“It is getting late, but who is this yer bringing with ya?”

The older boy’s eyes swept over me once. It made me feel completely scrutinized as he stepped closer to take a better look. I tried my best not to feel self-conscious while attempting to give him an appraising stare of my own.

Solo was rather scruffy looking. His blond hair was unkempt, poorly tamed with a red bandanna. It was much shorter in length than my brunette friend's hair. He was the tallest among the three of us, and lanky. The clothes he wore were ratty and of course unflattering on his almost too thin frame.

The intense look in his eyes caught me off guard. They were cold, calculating, and wary. I could not imagine why a boy his age would have to be so on edge. He looked tense like he was always on high alert.

“She don’t look like no street kid to me.” He observed, his voice and serious tone cutting into my thoughts. “These clothes are too nice. She ain’t staying with us. We got too many mouths to feed as it is. Sorry, Kid, not happenin’.”

“Aww, but, Solo, she’s got no place else to go.” Kid protested. “You shoulda seen her run too. I betcha she can pull her own weight in no time.”

Hearing them talk made me take a good look at myself. If I’d been home, the clothes I was wearing would have been fit for the garbage. I’d only been in this place for a short time, and my whole outfit was already filthy from the fall. Walking around the gross alley didn't help either. Solo must have thought I looked like some rich kid that got caught playing on the wrong side of town. Technically, he wouldn’t have been wrong.

My parents never let me go off on my own. I would never have been allowed to go anywhere near a place like the neighborhood we were standing in. It made me wonder what could have happened to the parents of these two boys.

Didn’t these kids have anyone at all to take care of them?

Solo suddenly surprised me by coming into my personal space and taking a good whiff of my hair.

“Hey!” I exclaimed looking indignant. He paid no attention to me and continued conferring with Kid.

He shook his head, “She even smells nice. Where’d you find her anyway?”

“Aw, I don’t know, Solo. She sorta dropped in on me in the market,” the brunette replied. He exchanged an amused look with me for the turn of phrase but refrained from laughing.

Diana chose that moment to poke her head out of my bag again, curious about the new voice that had joined us.

“And just what in the hell is that?” Solo asked, staring at my cat like she was some sort of mythical creature.

“That’s a cat!” Kid answered for me, clearly pleased that he knew something that the other boy didn’t.

Solo raised an eyebrow at him and frowned, “I don’t take in runaways. If she knows what’s good for her she’ll get herself and that cat back home.”

The fur on Diana’s back bristled and she hissed at him.

“Shhh, Diana!” I admonished, only to get a low growl in response. She seemed to glare at me before ducking back into my bag.

“I...we...really don’t have anywhere else to go,” I confessed.

He snorted, “Will ya just listen ta her? She sounds like some polished Earth-bounder.”  
What did he mean by that? I couldn’t help myself from voicing this question aloud.

 

“A what?!” I protested, startled by the word ‘Earth-bounder’.

“Earth-bounder?” the blond parroted, sounding amused.

“Yes, what does that mean?”

“That yer from Earth, o’course.” Solo explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Well, yes, I am. Aren’t you from Earth too? I mean, aren’t we all on Earth right now?”

“Heck no!” Solo laughed, “What? Did ya hit yer head or somethin’? We’re on L2. This is a Colony in the middle of Space.”

My eyes widened, completely stunned by this news. The time key had dropped me off in a space colony that I’d never even heard of. Not to mention that I had yet to figure out when in time the key had decided to take us to. Things only kept getting weirder.

“Oh...” was the only thing I could manage lamely.

He laughed again, “What’s yer name? Or did ya forget that too?”

I shook my head, not wanting to divulge that bit of information. This was my opportunity to pretend to be someone else, at least until I was able to figure out how to get back home.

“Fine,” Solo said, giving me another appraising look. “We’ll just have to give ya a new one.”

“How about, Rabbit?” I suggested, thinking back to when I had first traveled in time. I had been called Rabbit before. It would be appropriate considering it is a rough translation of my actual name. I wasn’t about to explain any of that to these boys though. The less they knew about me the better.

“That’ll do.” Solo agreed.

“That mean we can keep ‘er?” Kid chimed in.

“Sure Kid, but she’s yer responsibility now. I guess we can use another girl around. I’m not too good with the little ones. They cry too much.”

Solo shrugged and started walking away. Kid followed the elder boy, so once again, I had no choice but to fall into step with the pair of strangers.

Where else could I go?

“Little ones?” I asked, keeping a steady flow of questions as we picked our way through a musty alley. “You mean there are more kids like you? Younger ones?”

Solo stopped for a minute to glance back at me, “Yeah, there is a small gang of us kids. My crew. I take care of ‘em. L2 is full of street rats all over the place. There is only so much I can do. I can’t take care of everyone.”

It didn’t make sense to me. Abandoned kids? Street rats? Had things gotten that bad here? I tried to process his words as we got to a chain-link fence that hindered our route. I ended up being completely horrified.

“R-rats?” I stammered, focusing on the mention of rodents.

Solo had already climbed the fence with practiced ease. Sitting on top of the fence, he smirked at me and reached over to help pull me up. Seeing the confusion on my face, my new acquaintance started laughing at me.

“He means the kids on the street like us. I guess there are plenty of real rats too though...” Kid shrugged.

I shivered while continuing to follow the boys through another series of dark alleys. The lack of street lights only made things look gloomier than they already were. I could never have imagined such a place existed let alone live here. How could this happen? How could these kids become abandoned?

The mood grew somber after that. We made the rest of the walk in silence until a dilapidated, boarded-up warehouse came into view. The place looked abandoned. Yet, Solo made his way around the building and found the entrance he was looking for.

There was a window where the boards came away easily when the blonde gave them a good, solid tug. Solo waited for Kid and me to climb through the opening before following us inside. He carefully slid the wood back into place with no one the wiser. The hidden entrance was actually rather ingenious. No one would be able to tell that it had been disturbed at all unless you knew what to look for. I doubted very much that anyone was taking care of the building. It was a depressing thought that this was the only relatively safe shelter Solo and his ‘gang’ could find.

Predictably, the warehouse was dark. There was no electricity to power the lights. The boys didn’t seem to have any issues moving about in the shadows. I kept on stumbling over everything and bumping into dusty crates. As we crept through the building, Kid ended up having to guide me the rest of the way.

Luckily, we didn’t have to go very far. Solo led the way to a decent-sized bay area within the warehouse. Dim as it was, there was more light here. The skylights above reflected the glow of some other light source outside.

There were at least ten to fifteen children scattered around doing various things. All eyes came upon us when we entered.

Solo immediately addressed the group of children, “Alright, all you guys gather ‘round. We have a new girl joining us tonight.”

None of the kids even questioned him. They simply gathered around and waited for their leader to speak again. Each carried a burlap sack like the one Kid had.

“This is, Rabbit.” Solo continued with a gesture towards me. “She’s one of us now. You all know the rules, no pickin’ on each other and we stick together. If you don’t follow, you’ll have me to deal with. I won’t hesitate to kick someone out of my gang. Now you monsters play nice and introduce yourselves to the Rabbit, here. Split up whatever supplies we got.”

They all moved in complete unison, like some kind of practiced routine. A metal barrel was brought in from somewhere. A fire was started inside of it, moments later cardboard and pieces of wooden crates were thrown in to keep the fire going. I could make out the faces of the other children better now. The majority of the group started to sit forming a circle around the barrel.

I shrugged off my backpack taking a spot beside Kid in the circle. Before I could even get comfortable, my bag was snatched away. I scrambled to my feet and attempted to take it back from the stranger to no avail. He was an entire head taller than I was and held the bag aloft just beyond my reach.

“Hey!” I protested, “Give it back!”

He grinned maliciously, “Did you think you were special or somethin’, Bunny Ears? You heard what the boss said. You have to share with the rest of us too. Let’s see whatcha got here.”

Unzipping the bag was his first big mistake. Reaching into it was the second. Diana took one look at the strange face staring down at her and swiped at bare flesh. Her claws leaving a sizable gash across his cheek. Swearing colorfully, he pulled away and threw the bag in my general direction. Diana scurried into my arms while my belongings got scattered across the cement.

I glowered at the towering figure and held the agitated cat close. “What is wrong with you, you big jerk?!”

“What in the hell is wrong with that...that animal!” he shouted back, taking a step toward us.

Diana growled in warning.

The boy looked older with menacing eyes and haphazardly cropped, dark reddish-brown hair. His intimidating appearance was enough to make me take a step back. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Kid getting up to intervene but it was a female voice that spoke in my defense.

“Oi, Finch, knock it off!” She interceded stepping between us. Her appearance was of someone older though not by a whole lot. This girl immediately reminded me of a younger Rei, long raven hair and hazel eyes.

She was clad in frayed clothes like the others. An aviator hat, a two-layered top, dark jeans, and a pair of well-worn boots on her feet. The boy she called Finch was much taller than either one of us. In spite of that, her tone held an authority that even he could not ignore.

Finch growled at her, nostrils flaring, “You ain’t the boss of me, Navi.”

There was a tense moment where I thought he was going to advance again. Navi stood her ground, hands on her hips and stared him down. He never took that step toward her, instead just spit at the ground before walking out of the large bay.

Shaking her head, Navi crossed her arms and looked up into the rafters. Solo was perched there simply observing the goings on below.

“You know, you could have come down here and done something about him.” She chided.

Solo shrugged, “Ya handled it, didn’t cha?”

“He’s getting outta hand, Solo,” Navi warned.

“You let me worry about that, Nav,” he replied, brushing off the subject. Solo didn’t seem too concerned with the whole altercation. Navi sighed, seeming to accept that for now, their leader was dismissing the subject.

“Ah, just ignore Finch. He’s a big dope.” Kid added. “Come on let’s eat.”

He helped gather my things and I stowed them away before we took seats around the barrel again. This time Kid and Navi sat on either side of me. Diana settled on my lap and my hand instinctively fell to pet her. I could tell she was still upset and wary around all the strangers because her fur felt slightly prickly. Threading my fingers through her coat was slowly starting to ease the tension. I observed the kids as they produced food and an assortment of supplies from their bags. Everyone shared what they had. To my surprise, no one thought twice about including me, despite the fact that there was not a lot of food, to begin with.

There was cheese, some sort of bread and cans of non-perishables. One of the kids was holding a can over the fire with a weird contraption in an attempt to warm up its contents.

The kids began introducing themselves while we sat around eating. Tension seemed to lessen with the inane chatter and I began to feel a little more at ease within the group.

“I’m Gizmo,” said the boy who was warming the canned food over the fire. “I can fix just about anything that needs fixin’. Sometimes I can even make a neat gadget or two outta something useless.”

I could see his hazel eyes lit by the fire. He had a sweet face, but I found the same wariness I’d seen in Kid and Solo’s eyes. There was some intelligence in those eyes too. Gizmo’s messy, raven hair was mostly hidden underneath a brown aviator hat and goggles. Like the other children, his clothes were just as worn and tattered as the rest. He wore brown cargo shorts, with a white t-shirt underneath a vest with many pockets, and a pair of scuffed boots. He wore fingerless gloves over his hands.

Gizmo shot me a lopsided grin, his dimpled cheeks smudged from standing over the smoky fire. He offered the first warmed can of food to me, “Ladies and newbies first.”

“Thank you,” I said politely though I couldn’t help the dubious expression on my face as I accepted the can.

I was afraid to ask if there was any sort of expiration date. Makoto made all our meals from fresh ingredients. I wasn’t used to having anything like this. Checking the can for a date, I found a stamp that said DEC 187 A.C. which of course made no sense to me.

The contents of the can were at least familiar, some kind of pasta in a tomato sauce. It smelled like it would taste okay too. Gizmo must have picked up on my hesitation. He snickered in amusement while setting up another can on his device.

“I promise it’s still good,” he assured me.

“187 A.C.?” I asked sheepishly.

Gizmo gave me a strange look but nodded. “that’s this year.”

 

Well, okay... it wasn’t the time to be picky.

It was warm and familiar food. As far as I could tell it wasn’t spoiled. Until I could figure things out, Diana and I would have to make do. The food was portioned out between everyone present. One of the girls, a blonde that hadn’t introduced herself yet, produced a box of disposable utensils. She began passing them around the circle. The littlest of the girls brought a handful over to Navi and sat on the older girl’s lap.

She smiled brightly at me and gave me one of the plastic forks before introducing herself. “Hi! I’m Red. Solo calls me that ‘cause I gots red hair.”

Red seemed to be four or five years old at best. Big, blue, innocent eyes stared up at me underneath unkempt red curls. Though it lacked in creativity, her name was a very obvious choice. I wondered if she had ever known what her real name was. I imagined something pretty, like Rose or even Emily. Her smile was infectious and I found myself smiling back.

“Hi, Red. Thanks for the fork.” I said, “Would you like to share the pasta with me?”

“Really?” she asked, turning her baby blues on me again looking hopeful.

“Sure,” I replied.

Red nodded eagerly and Navi scooted over so that there was space for the younger girl to sit between us. The little one scooted in closer to me, murmuring a shy thank you in return. More introductions followed as we continued to pass things around to each other and began to eat.

“I’m the Navigator,” the raven-haired girl formally introduced herself. "Navi for short. No one knows their way around these streets better than me, Girl. That's how I got my name."

Navi took a bite of an apple and when she looked back up at me I noticed a striking resemblance to Gizmo in her grin. The family ties were obvious, especially in their looks and charisma.

Motioning to Gizmo with a flourish she continued, “You've met Gizmo over there. He is my kid brother.”

Navi liked to talk and she took over the rest of the introductions with plenty of enthusiasm. She motioned over to the blond that had started the line of disposable utensils next.

“Blondie over there is Sunshine. Sunny’s our little ray of sunshine. Ain’t ya girl?”

The blond in question gave me a little wave and winked. Her eyes are a vibrant green and she wore her hair in pigtails, sort of like mine, but no meatballs or bunny ears to speak of. Sunny looked young too, not as young as Red, but definitely not as old as Navi or Solo. If I had to guess, she was closer to Gizmo’s age, six or seven, like me.

Sunny appeared to be as bright and colorful as her name. Her clothing consisting of a red long sleeve shirt underneath a white tank top and a pleated skirt. She covered her legs in thigh high, red and white striped socks.

“This little one here is Bug.” Navi continued while putting her arm around a boy beside her on the left. Bug was easily the tiniest and youngest of the bunch. He wore an orange, long-sleeve jumper and some coveralls at least one size too big. The outfit only emphasized his petite frame. 

“He’s little enough to crawl into any kind of small space," Navi explained. "It comes in handy when he needs to hide or get through tight spots.

She tugged off his black beanie and ruffled his shaggy, brown hair. Bug grinned up at her, brown eyes brimming with admiration, as he nestled in closer to her. It was easy to see that the little guy adored her.

It seemed to me that the smallest kids kind of huddled around and took their cues from the older children. Red, Bug, Gizmo, and Sunshine stuck around Navi while a couple of others left the circle to join Finch. They had participated long enough to share food but neglected to introduce themselves. Navi jerked her head in their general direction, a shady corner of the bay. Finch was busy sulking there and teaching the kids some sort of dice game.

“Don’t mind them. They’ll warm up to ya soon enough. We’re all family here.”

“That’s right. Even kitty over here is family now.” Gizmo added.

 

He produced a small can of tuna from one of the sacks and opened it up, placing it on the ground in front of me and my cat. “Here ya go.”

Diana perked up and inched toward the can giving it a cautious sniff.

“Go on, Diana.” I encouraged, smiling as she glanced at me for approval. I looked up at Gizmo as he watched my cat in fascination.

“Thank you, Gizmo.”

“Aw, that’s okay. I’m glad we had something left over to feed her tonight.” Gizmo admitted sadly. “Sometimes there isn’t even enough for everyone to eat. She’s real cute, though. I’ve never seen one up close before.”

Hearing about the way these kids lived, the more horrified I became. I had the desire to help them but didn’t know where to begin or if it was even possible.

“You can pet her. She won’t hurt anyone.” I said in an attempt to cheer him up and smooth over the moment.

He looked like he was curious enough to pet Diana. I made the small gesture to thank him for his kindness.

“Well–" I amended, "she won’t hurt anyone besides Finch.”

The comment won me a laugh from Gizmo. He tentatively reached over to pet Diana, and she paused from her meal to nudge his hand in affection.

Gizmo grinned in delight. “She likes me!”

“Yes, it sure seems like it.” I smiled.

The meal and conversation tapered off with exhaustion taking over. After a few bites of pasta, I let Red have the rest of my food. My appetite wasn’t there anymore. Getting some sleep sounded more appealing after such a crazy day, though I wasn’t sure If I’d get settled enough to do so.

I shouldn’t have worried. Once settled down with one of the tattered blankets that Kid provided for me, I drifted off quickly without much thought about what the next day would bring…

 

À suivre...


	4. ACT ZERO THREE | For Love and Justice! Pretty Sailor Suited Soldier, Sailor Moon Arrives!

**ACT ZERO THREE | For Love and Justice! Pretty Sailor Suited Soldier, Sailor Moon Arrives!**

**Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe**

  
  


It was warm.

Instinctively, I snuggled closer to the heat source. It felt nice. The previous day must have been a crazy dream. I was safe in bed with Mama and Papa. Sometimes, whenever I’m upset or scared of something I crawl into bed with them.

I was starting to doze off again when a loud crash jolted me up causing me to bump my head against someone’s chin.

“Oww!” Kid complained.

_It hadn’t been a dream after all..._

I groaned and rubbed my head. “I’m so sorry! Are you okay? What in the world was that noise?”

I didn’t get the chance to hear Kid’s reply as the source of the disturbance came streaking past us. Diana was being chased by Finch. A frazzled Navi was pursuing the pair in an attempt to stop them. Diana’s fur was on end and she was growling. There was murder in Finch’s eyes as he continued to give chase.

I blinked, stunned at the strange scene unfolding before me.

“Hey!” I shouted, charging after them. “Stop chasing my cat!”

Hearing my voice, Diana came full circle and headed straight for me. I skidded to a halt with barely enough time to catch her as she leapt into my arms. Finch managed to stop himself from crashing into us, but that didn’t stop Navi from colliding with him. They went sprawling, landing in a heap on the cold concrete.

“Finch! Ya big dummy!” I heard Navi shout as she tried to untangle herself from the boy. The minute she could, she smacked him across the back of the head.

Diana was still busy hissing and baring her teeth while I glared at the boy. She was beginning to sound almost feral, but who could blame her after being chased all over the place. I ran my hand through Diana’s fur in an attempt to calm my cat.

“What is the matter with you?” I demanded to know, “Why were you chasing my cat?”

“She bit me!” Finch exclaimed throwing his arms in the air in defeat.

I raised an eyebrow and stared at him.

“Okay, okay, I was trying to take her to the marketplace to see if I could sell her off and then she bit me,” he confessed.

“I told him to leave it alone,” Navi interjected, leveling a glare of her own at Finch.

“You tried to sell my cat?!” I shrieked, narrowing my eyes, and setting Diana down. I moved a few steps closer getting into his personal space.

Finch shrugged, looking sheepish but not sorry.

“I should throttle you!”

“Hey, pets are rare! Someone mighta paid a lot of credits for that thing.”

“Thing!?”

_That had done it._

“My cat is not a thing!” I yelled.

I lunged at him, or I tried to anyway. Someone caught me around the waist and lifted me clear off the concrete. Whoever it was, held me aloft so that I couldn’t regain1 my footing.

“Hey! Let go of me!” I protested, struggling to break free from the strong grip. Unfortunately, it was no use. The hold around my waist was solid.

“Cool it, Rabbit.” Solo asserted. I looked up in surprise to find that he was the one holding me back.

He turned toward Finch, eyes narrowed, “Get lost, Finch. I don’t want to see yer face around till later tonight.”

“Damn it, Solo! Really?!” Finch complained.

“Now, Finch! You know how things are in this gang. If you can’t follow the rules, then scram.” Solo said.

Solo did not release me until Finch cleared out of the warehouse. I crossed my arms and glared at him, angry that he had stopped me from teaching Finch a lesson.

A good slap might have been satisfying.

Still frowning, I stooped down to pick Diana up and absently carded my fingers through her fur. The motions were as soothing to me as they were for her.

The next words out of Solo's mouth surprised me.

“Does she have a name? Is she okay?” he asked.

I blinked at him, completely at a loss for words.

He rolled his eyes and motioned toward Diana, “the cat.”

“Her name is Diana. He startled her, that's all. She will be fine.”

Solo nodded and turned to the rest of the children who had observed the scene with some interest.

“The rest of you listen up!” He said loudly, getting everyone’s attention, “Rabbit’s cat is off limits. Diana is part of this gang now. So nobody get cute. We’re family and we don’t sell out our own. Got it?”

There was a mumbled chorus of assent and with that Solo seemed satisfied. My jaw dropped and I stood there staring. I hadn’t expected Solo to say something like that. He hardly knew me, yet, he was including me and Diana in his family. Heat flooded my cheeks and I found myself looking away.

Diana meowed and settled down in my arms.

I only looked up as Navi’s arm settled around my shoulders.

She grinned at me, “Welcome to the family, Rabbit, and you too, kitty cat.”

 

x x x x x x

 

After the chaotic morning, our happy little family dispersed. They all went off to fulfill their duties for the day. Everyone had to bring something useful to contribute before nightfall. Whether it was food, credits, or basic necessities everything would be shared.

I didn’t know much of anything about my new home. I had yet to figure out what exactly a credit was, but Finch made it sound like some form of currency. That was my best guess.

What I did know, is that Kid took his ‘responsibilities’ to the gang very seriously. For now, his responsibilities included me. I tagged along with him for the day and it gave me the opportunity to ask questions.

Admittedly, I wasn’t in the best of moods. I couldn’t decide if I was still angry, excited, or downright depressed. The day had started off badly. It didn’t help matters that I was following Kid around in rumpled, slept-in clothes. I felt gross and wished for nothing more than a shower and clean clothes. My stomach would no doubt protest that what I actually needed was a good meal first.

Kid seemed to be in agreement because he wasted no time in getting back to the market from yesterday. When we got there, I followed him up a fire escape onto the roof of a three-story building nearby. There was a good view of the hub of activity below from here. Kid appeared to be watching the crowd, waiting for someone or something in particular. I didn’t have a clue what to look for, so I sat back and waited to take my cues from him. I don’t even know how long we stayed observing things, but Kid finally saw what he wanted. He grinned and stood from his crouch on the ledge, ready to leave.

“Stay here. I’m going to score us some breakfast.” He declared.

Before I could even reply, Kid was gone. He hurried down the fire escape and disappeared into the sea of people.

“Finally!” Diana said, “I thought I’d never have a moment to speak to you!”

She hopped off my head and sat in front of me. The look in her eyes was the same that Luna got right before going off on a rant or a lecture.

I sighed. “I’m sorry about this morning.”

Her tail flicked in agitation. “That wasn’t your fault. I'm quite capable of handling that hooligan myself. It’s not him I’m worried about. I’m concerned about us getting home, Usa.”

“How do you propose we do that?” I asked rolling my eyes at her in frustration.

“Your key.” She stated matter-of-factly.

I reached for the key that hung around my neck on its thin, gold chain and frowned. The key felt strangely disconnected. I couldn’t feel the familiar pull or warmth that it normally possessed, but I didn’t know how to explain that to Diana.

“I don’t think that will work, Diana”

“You won’t know until you try. We have to try soon. Everyone at home must be so worried about us.”

I nodded and looked away. “We have to find a place where no one will see us.”

“We can sneak out tonight after the others go to sleep.” She suggested.

“Diana...”

“Hmm?”

“What if it doesn’t work?”

I didn’t get to hear a response. Kid rejoined us at that moment looking pleased with himself. My mood had soured further, but I managed a tentative smile. I didn’t want to be petty and dampen his mood too. Diana gave my hand a reassuring nudge and then curled up on my lap.

“I scored some bread from the baker.” He announced, “It’s day old, but should still be good.”

Kid had three loaves of bread in his bag, and he split one of them between the three of us. We had our breakfast there on the roof and I let Kid chatter to me some more about L2. The conversation distracted me from my pessimistic thoughts of never going home. There was so much to learn about this strange place.

“I’m going to have to teach you how to pickpocket.” He stated at one point between bites of food.

I paused from feeding Diana and stared at him aghast.

“W- what?”

“Pickpocketing.” Kid repeated, “We need credits to buy any decent food."

_So credits were currency._

He confirmed my suspicions, but regardless, I wasn’t about to resort to stealing. Diana made her thoughts on the matter known as well. She bit down on my finger while making a show of sniffing the food in my hand. I yelped and glared at her, but she merely licked her paw, feigning innocence.

Shaking my head, I turned to Kid, “I won’t steal from people. That’s wrong.”

“Ya won’t be thinking about that for very long. It’s wrong for kids to starve too, but no one cares about that enough to do somethin’. If ya starve, so will she, and it ain’t gonna matter to no one.” He said, pointing at Diana. “I don’t know about where ya come from, but that is just how it is here."

I grimaced, watching as Diana half-heartedly nibbled at her piece of bread. Cats don’t eat things like bread. As much as I hated to admit it, Kid was right. If I didn’t figure something out soon, we would starve. Not knowing where our next meal would come from made the thought of not being able to get home a lot scarier. This wasn’t anything like the first time I traveled in time. In the twentieth century I had been scared too, but at least I’d had Puu to guide me. I always knew that there was a way to get back home because she was watching over me. I had people that I could turn to, food, clothes, and a safe home thanks to the much younger versions of my parents.  
Here on L2, I didn’t have anyone at all.

I wasn’t going to give up yet. I wouldn't compromise my morals without even trying to figure out another way.

“I’ll figure something out,” I said stubbornly, popping the last bite of day-old bread in my mouth.

Kid swallowed his own food and shrugged, “Suit yerself.”

He didn’t bring up the subject again, in fact, he led the conversation in an entirely different direction. Kid was beginning to pick up on what were touchy subjects for me and he steered clear of them.

“So, what do ya want to do today?” he asked, innocently dropping the ball on me.

“I was hoping you would tell me. I’m still pretty much a newbie.” I replied.

“There isn’t much to do.” Kid confessed, “but I could show ya around. You’ll need to learn how to get back to the warehouse on yer own in case we ever have to split up. I’m gonna have to leave ya later if I’m gonna get enough credits to buy rations from the military base before dark. They sell some of their supplies dirt cheap if they’re tryin’ to get rid of it.”

“Okay,” I agreed and tried not to think of how Kid was going to get that money. He stood, shouldering his bag and I followed suit. I set Diana on her usual spot between my “rabbit ear” pigtails and shouldered my backpack

Kid gave me a look and shook his head. “Yer going to want to keep her in the bag. There are worse people than Finch around here. He wasn’t wrong about her being worth some credits.”

“Oh, right,” I replied, surprised by his candor.

I let Diana slip back into my backpack before following Kid down the fire escape.

We walked for hours. Kid showed me at least three different routes that led back to the warehouse. He also pointed out places that I should stay away from. It was well into the afternoon when Kid left me to my own devices. He needed to get money and at this point, I would only hinder him. I didn't harbor any desire to get involved anyway.

I had nothing left to do but wander around until it was time to meet up with Kid.  Being on my own though, made me nervous even with Diana to keep me company. Contemplating the idea of finding a place to wait out the rest of the day, I got caught up in my own thoughts. I was not watching where I was going.

Diana’s warning meow came a few seconds too late as I crashed into someone and fell back on my butt. Several bags of miscellaneous items fell around us on the street. To add insult to injury, an errant apple hit my head. My eyes watered and I blinked, trying to bring things back into focus again.

“I’m so sorry!” said a voice, and a woman came into view, peering down at me with concern. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I think so...” I replied, rubbing my throbbing head. I was starting to feel a headache coming on.

“Let me help you,” she said, offering her hand to help me stand.

Once on my feet, I noticed her groceries scattered across the sidewalk. I glanced up at the tall woman apologetically, “I’m sorry about this mess ma’am. I should have been paying more attention. Let me help pick it up.”

She nodded, “thank you, but it was my fault too. I couldn’t see very well around these packages.”

The brunette smiled kindly at me and it made my heart ache. Her smile reminded me of mama Ikuko. I missed her, but I mulishly pushed those thoughts away and bent to the task of helping the lady.

The woman introduced herself as Claire. As it turned out, she lived a stone throw away from where we collided on the street. I helped her carry some of the packages back to her apartment.

“Thanks again, Rabbit,” Claire said as we stopped at her door, “would you like to come in for lunch? I feel awful about what happened out there. I would like to make it up to you.”

I wanted to decline politely, but my stomach chose that moment to rebel again. Claire grinned delightedly and I hung my head in embarrassment.

“Well, if it isn’t too much trouble...” I trailed off lamely, still feeling conflicted.

There was some sort of cardinal rule about kids not talking to strangers. My current situation was making it harder and harder to follow any kind of morals.

“Nonsense! It’s no trouble at all. I’d love the company and I owe you my thanks.” Claire insisted.

Despite my hesitation, Claire’s persistence won. Nothing particularly screamed danger about this woman. Claire did seem pretty nice, so maybe just once it would be okay to accept a stranger’s kindness. The bread I had shared with Kid in the morning seemed like ages ago, and though appreciated, it had not been much of a meal. I was starving and the thought of food only made my stomach growl again, loudly.

Kid must be hungry too, I thought, and that made me feel guilty. I would have to save some of my lunch and share some of it with Diana too. Claire ushered me into the apartment and past the living space to get to her kitchen.

I sat at the small kitchen table while she unloaded and stowed away her groceries. When she was done, Claire made up some sandwiches and brought them over to the table.

“Thank you.” I said again, “this really wasn’t necessary.”

“It’s alright. I wanted to thank you for helping me. Now go on and enjoy.” She replied earnestly.

I took a few bites and savored the simple fare of turkey, swiss and fresh bread. I was so hungry I could have finished the entire sandwich and probably another. It took some willpower to stop eating and tear off a piece of the deli meat for Diana.

“Oh! You’ve got a kitten!” Claire exclaimed when she noticed Diana poking her head out of my bag to eat the turkey.

I tensed immediately, worried about what kind of reaction Claire would have to my cat. Kid had warned me before about letting too many people take notice of Diana.

Claire jumped up excitedly and walked over to her cabinets in search of something. “I know I have a few cans of tuna hidden away up here somewhere.”

I didn’t relax until Claire returned to the table with four cans of tuna. She opened one of the cans and set it down for Diana who eagerly jumped down to eat. The older woman giggled delightedly as she watched my cat tuck into the canned fish.

“Looks like she was hungry,” Claire observed.

“Uh… we didn’t have much for breakfast.”

_Or dinner last night for that matter…_

Claire slid the other three cans of tuna toward me, “you should take the rest of these then.”

“Oh no. I couldn’t possibly…”

“I insist.” She smiled. “She needs these more than I do. I get by.”

“I...thank you. That is very kind.”

“Don’t mention it. Now, how about some lemonade to wash down that sandwich?”

Claire took a bit longer this time in preparing the drinks. I watched as she packed a few food items into a bag before returning to the table with our lemonades. I wondered but didn’t ask, letting her lead the conversation instead. The less I told anyone about myself the better. We talked until the light coming through the windows began to dim. It was getting late.

I stood and started to excuse myself before it could get any later. Trying to make my way back to the hideout in the dark would not be safe. Solo and Kid would not be happy about it.

“Well, it is getting late.” Claire agreed. “Wait here for a second.”

I nodded and scooped Diana back up to put her in my bag.

In the meantime, Claire came back with the bag of food I had seen her pack before. She pushed the package into my arms.

“Claire...I can't take all this.”

“None of that nonsense now. Go on and get home. Be safe.”

At a loss for words, I nodded and let her usher me outside.

“I’ll be here if you ever need anything.” She added as we said our goodbyes at the door.   “Only if you let me work for it. I can help you out around the house or help with errands, maybe?” I offered.

“You drive a hard bargain, little rabbit. Take care of yourself and that cute kitten. I’ll be seeing ya.” She grinned.

I returned the smile and waved before starting off in the direction Kid had taught me earlier in the day. It was already getting much later than I anticipated. Unconsciously, I picked up the pace even before I heard the scream.

I stopped dead in my tracks and listened only long enough to hear it again. I ran towards the noise even though my every instinct was telling me to go in the opposite direction. The screams began to grow clearer and louder which meant I was on the right track. Peering around the corner of the alley, I finally spotted them.

It was a small figure, a child like me, and an extremely large man looming over her. She was on the ground attempting to crawl away from the man amid tears and screams.

“No one is going to hear you out here, Lovey. Be good and it won't hurt as bad.”

I bit my bottom lip in an effort not to make any noise. I could not let that creep hurt this girl. I looked around hoping for something to spark an idea. I needed to help her.

_If I could just get on the rooftop…_

Spotting a fire escape ladder, I didn't waste any time. I set my bags down, hidden from view and grabbed onto the bottom rung of the ladder. I scurried up to the top climbing as fast as I could go. I had a  perfect view of them from the top of the building. I recognized the girl then, blonde pigtails and red top. It was Sunny. If I didn’t act fast something terrible was going to happen to her. Clutching my locket, I made a silent prayer hoping that I could still transform.

Within seconds, Sailor Mini Moon stood in my place. Taking a breath, I refocused on the scene below and removed my tiara. I took aim and let the tiara go knowing it would be true to its mark.

The man screamed in pain as it sliced the right side of his face.

I stayed at the edge of the rooftop casting a shadow upon both him and Sunny. The tiara returned in a brilliant flash of gold.

“It would be wise for you to leave, you pervert, or I will punish you again. That was only a warning.” I called down to him, masking my voice as best I could.

I let him see the glint of the tiara again enough to make him pause which gave Sunny time to run away. She did not waste the opportunity.

“Who are you?!” The man shouted back at me, loud and angry. He held the lacerated side of his face as it began to bleed.

“I stand for justice.That is all you need to know.”

“Justice?” He scoffed, “why would a grown man like me, be scared of a little girl? I’m going to make you pay for scaring off tonight’s entertainment.”

He made a move toward the ladder and I threw the tiara again this time slicing his hand.

“You are going to pay for that you little bitch!” he yelled.

“I wouldn’t do that. I can go all night and I never miss. You might make it up here, but I can guarantee you’ll be missing a few limbs. Leave. If I ever find you harassing children again, you’ll meet a fate much worse than a nicked cheek.”

_Come on, take the bluff. Take. the. bluff._

I had to bluff. If he managed to get onto the ladder it would be a lot more difficult for me to hit him. A physical confrontation would leave me at a severe disadvantage. The man outweighed me at least three or four times over. I would have to make a run for it.

The tiara flashed again making him hesitate once more. Not knowing what kind of weapon I was wielding was making him cautious. As I'd hoped, he decided that I wasn’t worth the trouble. I watched the big oaf leave the alley, kicking a trash bin along the way. I had to make sure he didn't follow Sunny before risking the climb back down the ladder.

Diana was immediately demanding answers the moment I got back to my bag.

“What on Earth did you think you were doing?”

Still high on adrenaline, I was feeling rather impish with my reply, “In case you hadn’t noticed, we are not on Earth.”

“Oh don’t you smart mouth me! What if that man came after you? He was not a demon!”

“Of course, because a human man is so much more dangerous than a demon,” I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes at the cat.

“Just what did you intend to do if the tiara did not work and he came after you? You are not equipped for that kind of situation.”

I frowned and proceeded to collect my things, “I could not stand there and do nothing.”

Diana sighed and took on a different tact. “Your transformation was different. You have a mask now.”

Her statement threw me. I hadn’t even noticed the mask on my face until she mentioned it. I touched it tentatively. It was a small, white domino mask like my father’s. I was going to remove it, but Diana stopped me.

“No, don’t take it off here. Go to the side of the building, out of view and detransform. We should hurry and get back to the other kids.”

I nodded and complied. Picking up my belongings and continuing the trek back to the warehouse. It was dark now. Kid and the others probably wondered if I skipped out on them. I quickened my pace hoping to get to shelter. I was starting to feel cold without the warm energy of my transformation.

Finally, the warehouse was in sight. I climbed in through the same window Solo had used the night before making my way to the large central bay. It was getting noisier as I got closer.

When the other kids came into view, Sunshine was there in tears, surrounded by the rest of the kids. My sudden appearance drew everyone's attention to me... Kid waved me over and the group made room for me in their circle.

“Sunny just got attacked,” Solo announced. I noticed that he was watching me intently as he spoke, “have any of you noticed a creepy guy hanging around our turf? You might have seen him on your way here, Rabbit. This just happened.”

“No...I actually got a little lost on my way back.” I lied, making a decent attempt at looking chagrined.

Solo sent me a skeptical look but made no further comment about me.

“Well,” he continued. “Apparently our little Sunshine here has some sort of guardian angel. Someone was looking out for her tonight. She was lucky but we’re going to have to start going out in pairs for safety.”

There was a murmur of dissent which Solo immediately put a stop to. “It’s not up for debate. This is what we’re doin’ and that’s it. Now Sunny who saved you from that pervert?”

Sunny blinked and looked straight at me. She was trying to remember something but was uncertain.

“It looked like...well it kinda looked like Rabbit!” She admitted much to everyone’s surprise.

“Couldn’t have been me.” I said, shutting down the idea before it caught on, “I never saw you or this creep everyone is talking about.”

“But...the shadow...it looked just like you. She was so cool!”

I shook my head. “It wasn’t me, but I think I know who it might be.”

“Really?” Sunny asked looking hopeful.

I felt someone tugging at my shirt and looked to find that Red had squeezed in beside me.

“You has a story?” Red asked, sending a buzz of excitement around the room.

“Yeah,” I said warming up to the idea. “I’ll tell you the story of why I probably look like Sunny’s hero.”

Everyone’s attention was on me once again and they began to settle down on the floor in the same circle. Red promptly sat on my lap and the kids all waited expectantly for me to start the tale.

“A long time ago… there was a girl who lived a very normal life. Her name was Usagi. She had a family that loved her, went to school on most days and had many friends. This girl was very pretty too, but sort of clumsy. She has long blond hair just like you Sunny and she wears it up in pigtails like mine...

Well, one day on her way to school, the clumsy girl stumbled upon some mean boys that were hurting a little cat. She scared the boys away and saved the kitty but she was late to school so she hurried off.

Later that night, the cat came to her window at home. This cat was special because it could talk.”

As I began to tell the story, the kids started splitting up whatever goods they’d managed to score for the day. I took a moment to hand over the package that Claire had made up for me as a contribution. Diana left her spot on top of my backpack to crawl onto Red’s lap who was still sitting on mine. She giggled in delight and started to pet Diana who purred contentedly.

“Is your kitty like the one in the story? Can she talk too?” Red asked, suddenly curious.

“Um..no. I’m afraid not.” I replied. I hoped the expression on my face that her question elicited went unnoticed.

“Aww, but she’s so pretty! Diana is special too.” Red said.

“I agree.” I smiled.

“More story now?” she asked once everyone was settled with their food.

I noticed everyone watching me expectantly and it seemed like I had no choice. Everyone wanted to hear the rest of the story.

“So, the talking cat told Usagi that she was special too. She could transform into a Sailor Guardian and protect people.

At first, Usagi didn’t believe. She thought it was a dream. Cats do not talk.

So the cat explained to Usagi that her name was Luna and that she would prove that the Sailor Guardians were real. Luna then gave Usagi a locket and told her to say :

Moon Prism Power…

As soon as Usagi said the words the locket lit up the whole room like magic! She became Sailor Moon. Luna told her about the Negaverse and the monsters that humans weren’t aware of. They were dark creatures that Sailor Moon needed to protect everyone from.

Usagi was scared but together they went out to fight the monsters. The first monster they fought was going to hurt Sailor Moon’s good friend but she was so scared that she needed help. A man wearing a tuxedo and a white mask came to their rescue just in time. He told Sailor Moon to be brave and fight.

So she used her magic tiara like a disk and she threw it at the monster with the words Moon Tiara Boomerang. The magic turned the demon to stone and it crumbled into dust. Sailor Moon was able to save her friend Naru.

When it was over, the man in the Tuxedo introduced himself as Tuxedo Mask. He promised that he would remember her name.

Usagi had to keep Sailor Moon a secret from others so she went home before Naru could see her. It was her very first adventure and she knew she would have to fight the demons again. Like Tuxedo Mask said, Sailor Moon would have to be brave.”

Sunny gasped at the end of my story, “that’s the thing! The girl in the shadows used this bright gold disk thing just like Sailor Moon!”

I shrugged. “You see, I told you it can’t be me. I don’t have anything like that.”

“She has to be real! Maybe this moon lady is watchin’ over us right now.” Sunny said excitedly.

Some of the other girls began sharing in the enthusiasm and wanting to meet their new heroine. I was starting to wonder if telling them the story had been a good idea. It would be hard to get everyone to settle down after getting riled up with the story.

“Alright, you lot it's time ta sleep..” Navi intervened. Her voice was firm like a mother even though she was much too young to be one. “Go on. Get your blankets and settle down.”

Groaning in unison, the kids protested Navi's orders. They wanted another story but a word from Solo shut the noise down quickly.

The more I learned about L2, the more disheartened I felt. It made me realize how sheltered I had been until meeting these kids. Jun was right when she said to ‘be careful what you wish for’.

  
  
  


À suivre...

 


	5. ACT ZERO FOUR | The Key That Opens No Doors

  
  


**ACT ZERO FOUR | The Key That Opens No Doors.**

**Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe**

 

The warehouse was dark and quiet except for the soft sounds of the kids sleeping. It was hard to get around the space without bumping into someone since the fire barrel had been out for a while. We managed to sneak out with no one the wiser, but it was a painstaking process and a miracle. Diana and I climbed out of the warehouse entrance into the dim alley and started moving. I was careful to stick to the paths I was already familiar with.

After some distance, Diana tensed and glanced around, “Are we being followed?”

“I don’t think anyone saw or heard us leave,” I replied, turning around to take a look as well.

After a moment, she sighed and settled again on top of my head before concluding that she was imagining things.

I shrugged and kept walking, coming to another vacant alley. It was as good a place as any to try the key while away from prying eyes. Wrapping my arms around myself, I shivered though it had nothing to do with being cold. Being alone at that time of night didn’t feel safe. Solo had a point about everyone getting back to the hideout before nightfall.

“Let’s try the key,” Diana said prodding me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah, okay.”

I removed the necklace from where it was tucked underneath my shirt. Staring down at the silver key, stroking my thumb across the intricate design a sigh escaped me. I knew that something was wrong. The key wasn't going to work, but there would be no convincing Diana until she saw the truth for herself.

I did as she asked and held the key aloft like so many times before and repeated the incantation:

“Guardian of time! Tear apart the sky and open the Door of Space-time to me! I call your true name, the almighty God of Time, the guardian of time's father, Chronos! Guidance to me! Protection to me! The path of light to me!”

_ … And nothing happened. _

There was no light, no energy, nothing at all coming from the key.The key always had an energy about it that I no longer sensed since arriving on L2. Even knowing that, I had to try one more time. I said the words again, this time closing my eyes and willing the thing to work.

The result was the same. No response from the key. I hadn’t felt the crushing hopelessness until that moment. Somewhere in the back of my mind, a small glimmer of hope remained that I would be able to go home. Fear hadn’t quite set in but now it was threatening to drown me. It felt like I couldn’t breathe.

My mind raced with a million different thoughts. What could have rendered the Space-time Key useless? Was Crystal Tokyo gone or closed off from the Gates of Time forever? There would be no way for me to know what happened to my home if I was stranded here.

_ How would I ever see my family again if there was no way for me to get home? _

I don’t know how I ended up on my knees sobbing. It seemed like the entire world had melted away. Not even the nighttime sounds of the neighborhood reached me. It was when I felt a hand on my shoulder that I came back to my senses.

“Rabbit?” A familiar voice asked, bringing everything into clear focus. The sounds of the grimy L2 city returned.

I gasped and jerked away, tears still flowing undeterred. Solo came into view as I attempted to wipe them away. He was kneeling down in front of me, a look of concern on his face. There were no words exchanged between us as he pulled me into his arms and let me cry.

When it seemed like I’d cried myself into exhaustion, he pulled away to look at me.

“Okay now?” Solo asked.

I didn’t trust my voice so I nodded.

“I’m not sure what’s going on,” he said, “but we don’t have to talk about it now. At some point yer going to have to tell me about the talking cat and this old key thing.”

Solo grinned while dangling the key in front of me. It must have slipped from my hands while he held me. Solo placed it back into my hands before helping me get back up and nodding in the direction we came from, "let's get out of here."

He guided me back to the warehouse with Diana trailing behind us. We walked in a comfortable silence and it was just as well because I didn’t feel like talking. I was barely keeping it together as it was.

The next thing I remember is waking up next to Kid in the morning with Diana curled up at my side. I sat there for several minutes watching as everyone got started for the day. Kid stirred not long after, rubbing his eyes and blinking owlishly at me.

“Mornin’,” he yawned.

“Good Morning,” I replied.

“Wanna go scrounge up some breakfast with me?” Kid asked when he could trust himself to speak without another yawn.

I nodded, “there is something I want to do first, but I can meet you on the rooftop from the other day.”

Kid stood, stretching out cramped muscles and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll have breakfast for us by then.”

He stopped to look at me and did a double take. I thought for a moment that he was going to comment on my appearance. My eyes felt puffy and probably looked as bad as I felt. Kid raised an eyebrow at me in question, but I just stared right back at him. Kid went on his way with the rest of the kids, leaving the hideout. He must have thought better than to come right out and ask. 

Once Kid was out of view, I dug into my bag for the pocket mirror that had been packed before leaving home. As promised, my eyes were dry and puffy. My hair was an outright mess. I took the time to redo my hair since there wasn’t much else to be done for my eyes. I could stop by a restroom somewhere later...hopefully.

I stood, smoothing out my clothes before scanning the remaining group for Solo or Navi.

Solo was nowhere to be seen in the warehouse, but Navi was still around helping some of the younger kids get going. I swung my bag with Diana in tow on to my shoulder and made my way over to ask about our fearless leader. She caught sight of me and waved as she finished tying Red’s hair back into a ponytail.

“Hi,” she greeted once we were close enough.

“Hey, I was wondering if you know where Solo might be?” I asked.

Navi patted the little girl’s head and set her on her way before turning her attention back to me.

“Hmm...last I saw he was outside talking to Finch. Just a little further up the alley. They might still be there.”

I nodded my thanks and followed Red out of the warehouse. As promised, Solo and Finch were standing by the dumpsters. I took a moment to exchange pleasantries with little Red before joining the two boys.

Finch glared and crossed his arms over his chest the moment he saw me. He refrained from making any comment. It was easier for me to ignore his attitude that way. There was no need to pick a fight if he was at least showing some restraint.

“Good morning,” I said, trying to keep things polite, “Finch, would you mind if I had a moment with Solo?”

He frowned and spit on the ground before speaking, “Yeah, whatever. Take all the time you want, Buns. I’m out of here.”

Solo shook his head and we watched Finch amble the rest of the way up the alley, before disappearing into the street.

“Go for a walk?” Solo asked once the other boy disappeared from view.

“Yes, please.”

Solo likes to walk, I discovered, as he took me on a tour of the entire city. We walked several miles at least. In the end, we stopped at the base of one of the tallest buildings I’d seen yet on L2. I looked at the fire escape with trepidation. It was quite a long way up.

“Come on,” he insisted. “It will be worth the climb. I promise.”

“This better be good,” I warned in a teasing tone.

We made our way up the ladder to the roof. Solo set our bags down and crossed the flat top. He sat on the ledge facing an area of the colony that I had never seen before. Solo helped me sit down beside him and I took in the view in front of us.

After seeing the ugly side of the streets on L2, I did not expect to see something so amazing. The spaceport was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. It was a loud and thunderous hub of never-ending activity.

“Wow, this is incredible!” I exclaimed as I got to watch my first lift off.

“Yeah, it kinda is, isn't it?” Solo asked rhetorically, not taking his eyes off of the scene. “This isn't even the largest spaceport. I like to imagine what the ones on other colonies look like. They say L5’s is twice as big. Sometimes it’s nice to pretend to be somewhere else.”

A heavy sigh escaped me. I knew what he meant. Pretending to be somewhere else was one of my favorite past times. 

“So what’s up, Rabbit?” He asked after a while of amicable silence and watching the ins and outs of the station.

“Last night…” I began, having to pause before the tears could start up again, “I owe you an explanation.”

Solo shook his head at me. “You don’t owe me nothin’ but it would be nice to understand.”

“Yes, that’s fair.” I agreed. “Diana and I...we’re not from here.”

Solo chuckled at that. “No, kidding?”

“I’m serious! Don’t make fun!” I said shoving his shoulder.

“Go on then,” he said with another laugh.

I shifted uncomfortably wondering just how absurd my story would sound. “I don’t know if you’d believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

“Okay then… here goes. When I say we’re not from here, I mean that we came from another Universe in an entirely different timeline.”

I let that sink in a little. It was likely the most complicated part of my story. There was so much to tell and explain. If I was in his place I would think it was all fantastical. I’ve time traveled in the past and this whole situation still seemed impossible, even to me.

“Yer kidding right?” He asked, eyes wide in surprise.

I shook my head.

“It’s true,” Diana spoke up. “She is most definitely not making this up.”

Solo turned to stare at Diana as if she'd grown another head. I'm not sure which was more shocking, her ability to speak or the news that we could time travel. Traveling across time from another Universe sounded shocking all on its own.

Diana tilted her head and stared back, her tail twitching curiously.

“Is he okay?” Diana asked when he still didn’t speak.

Solo blinked a few times as if coming back to reality, “You mean to tell me that you two time traveled?”

“Exactly,” Diana confirmed.

He leaned back, propping himself up with his hands. “Well, shit. That is something you don’t hear about every day.”

“Language!” Diana chided.

“I never intended for this to happen in the first place. I still don’t know exactly how I ended up here.” I confessed, untucking the now useless key necklace from my shirt. “This is a key to the Door of Space-time. It’s what brought me here, but I haven't figured out why. I think... something terrible has happened in my world and now I can’t get back to my family.”

“You really meant it when you said you couldn’t go home. I thought you were just a runaway.” Solo said coming to that realization.

“Last night confirmed it. My key isn’t working. I don’t know any other way to get home.”

“Can it be fixed?” he asked.

“Only if you happen to know a Guardian of Space and Time.”

He rubbed his temples as if processing too much information. “Guardian of Space and Time? I don’t even know where to begin with that. Your world must be crazy. Time travel, talking cats, and Space guardians. None of that makes any sense.”

“I told you it is complicated. I don’t even know if I have a home to go back to. All I remember is an explosion and then literally falling on Kid in this world.” I explained.

“That I can relate to. With the war, there are always explosions and things going on at the military base. People get dead and that leaves us kids alone to fend for ourselves.” 

“There is no war where I’m from... Momma keeps the peace. Everyone loves and respects the Queen.”

“Queen? If yer mom is a Queen doesn’t that make you a princess?!” Solo exclaimed.

I laughed, “I'm not a princess anymore. I guess I’m just a rabbit now.”

“I guess you are,” he agreed with a chuckle as he reached over to poke at one of my rabbit buns. “So what is your real name then?”

“It’s Usagi.” I replied, feeling my cheeks warm with a blush, “It means rabbit in Japanese.”

Solo smirked, “Yer name is actually Rabbit?”

“It’s Usagi.” I corrected and rolled my eyes at the amused expression on his face. “Technically yes, Rabbit would be an accurate translation.”

“I trust you can keep this conversation a secret?” Diana interjected, clearly not as amused as Solo was.

He sobered. “Not sure anyone would believe me even if I did tell someone. Anyway, things could get pretty ugly if people found out about any of this.”

“Yeah, I’d rather we didn’t become test subjects in some science lab,” I muttered.

“I got yer back. I wouldn't want to stir up any trouble anyway. Drawing too much attention to yerself can get a person dead too,” Solo agreed.

We left the roof then, making our way down the fire escape. I remembered I had promised to meet Kid that morning and said my goodbyes to Solo. We parted ways and I rushed to catch up with my friend. Time had definitely escaped me, I never intended to be so late.

It had only been a couple of days, but I was starting to get comfortable navigating our neighborhood. It didn’t take me long to find Kid’s favorite building. I scurried up the fire escape as quickly as I could and found that Kid was still waiting for me.

“I was wondering when ya would turn up," he said.

I gasped, catching my breath before I could reply.

“Meant to be here sooner, but got caught up talking to Solo about something.”

Kid shrugged. “It’s okay. I took a bit longer too. Managed to score a can of tuna for the kitty.”

Diana perked up, poking her head out of my bag and meowed at the boy. He was probably her new best friend at the moment. She had to be starving by now. Cat-friendly food has been scarce and hard to come by.

Kid and I began to split the food he scored that morning. There were a few baked goods. Food that would have been tossed simply from being slightly over-baked or just a weird shape. Some of the goods seemed to be on the verge of going stale, but again, still good. I opened the can of tuna for Diana before taking a bite out of what looked and tasted like a banana nut muffin. It only looked a little crisp around the edges.

The three of us ate in silence. Kid shared a canteen of water between us, I poured some into Diana’s empty tuna can. It was enough to keep us satisfied and we had to be thankful for that at least. I didn’t want to think of the days when we wouldn’t have enough food.

“So,” Kid began before taking another swig from the canteen, “what do ya want to do today?”

“I wish there was somewhere I could wash up. Feeling kind of gross.” I confessed.

He laughed. “Good luck with that. The best we got is heating up some water at the hideout and washing up in the old bathroom stalls of the warehouse.”

“What are we supposed to do with our hair?” I asked with a grimace.

I didn’t think I could go much longer with my hair feeling all greasy and unkempt. It was going to be difficult getting used to street life. The little things I took for granted at home were now becoming a much bigger problem. It wouldn’t be fair of me to complain though, none of the other kids had anything to compare this life to. It was the only life they had ever known.

Kid shrugged, “Yer guess is as good as mine. Never done anything with it. Navi got some stuff that made the water all bubbly a few times. She scrubbed it in our hair then rinsed it off with clean water but that’s stuff hard to come by.”

I sighed, taking care of my hair would be another thing I would have to figure out. Hopefully, sooner rather than later. The first thing on my agenda was helping the crew without having to resort to stealing. There was an idea formulating in my mind already, but I would have to run it by Solo or Navi first. They were the ones calling all the shots after all and no one was going to listen to me without one of them being on board.

Kid nudged me out of my thoughts and I flushed in embarrassment for getting so distracted. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“We should get a move on,” he said, gathering his things. “I still have to pick up some more supplies before heading back to the hideout. We could try and find a bathroom somewhere along the way if ya want.”

“That would be nice.” I agreed.

I scooped Diana up and let her climb back into my bag, then followed Kid back down the fire escape. He led the way to a small business area where there were a few shops nestled beside each other down one street.

“The small convenience store has a bathroom,” Kid explained. “You don’t look like one of us street rats so I don’t think that crotchety store owner will give ya much trouble.”

I looked across the dingy street toward the shop he pointed out and bit my lip nervously. Kid’s assessment of the owner didn’t sound very comforting. What if the man did kick me out? He had every right to kick anyone out within reason. None of the kids in the crew screamed honest paying customer. 

“Okay, wish me luck,” I said as I un-shouldered my bag, removing my hairbrush and compact mirror. I handed the bag and Diana over to Kid. “please take care of her.”

“Ya don’t need any luck,” he chuckled as I pocketed the two items, “And don’t sweat it. I got the kitty.”

I nodded, turning to jog across the street. At the door to the shop, I hesitated and took a deep breath to steel myself. Before giving it any more thought, the door opened with my gentle push. The faint chime of a bell welcomed me as I made my way to the counter.

Kid wasn’t exaggerating when he mentioned the owner was...well... _ old _ . The man was balding with snow-white hair and a sour look on his face. Despite the aged features, he looked rather formidable in stature and frame. Oldie raised an eyebrow at my approach, looking like he was debating if I would be any trouble for him.

“You better not be here to cause trouble little girl,” he said as I stopped directly in front him. “What are you looking for?” 

“I was just wondering if I may use the restroom, Sir?” I asked using all the politeness and manners I could muster.

To my surprise, his expression softened.

“Well aren’t you the polite one?” He nodded towards the back of the shop, “the bathroom is right down at the end of aisle six.”

“Thank you.”

I threw in a smile, playing up the innocent little girl act and made my way down the aisle the man indicated. The restroom was in dismal conditions, grimy like the street the shop was located on. I was grateful that I thought to pack my compact mirror. The ones hanging over the sinks were cracked and dirty with accumulated filth.

The sinks at least had clean, running water. I let the water run until it was lukewarm and washed my face first followed by scrubbing my arms with some of the soap. I rinsed off the soap and did the same for my neck, using napkins to keep the water from running down onto my shirt. Once I was as clean as can be in the current facilities, I thought about what could be done about my hair.

Washing my hair in this bathroom wasn't feasible. It cascades just past my shoulders now, wavy from being pulled up into bunny pigtails. This was the longest it had ever been so far and I briefly wondered if it would ever get trimmed again. In the end, all I could do was brush it out and redo my pigtails.

I took one last glance at myself in the compact mirror before putting everything back in my pockets. This was the best I could manage... never mind trying to use the toilet which given the looks of the rest of the place, didn’t seem hygienic. Overstaying my welcome in the shop would draw suspicion. It was time to go. Exiting the restroom, I waved at the shopkeeper as I walked past him to meet Kid outside.

Kid and Diana had stayed across the street. Diana was perched on his shoulder, people watching. You could tell however, that Kid had a more critical eye. Like before, he was looking for something in particular. Kid was so focused that he didn’t notice me come up beside him.

“What are you looking at?”

My voice seemed to startle him but without missing a beat he replied, “looking fer a potential target.”

“Pickpocketing,” I stated, realizing now what he was looking for.

“That’s right.”

“There has to be a better way,” I persisted.

The sooner I could bring my idea up to Solo and Navi the better. We could make honest money and maybe people wouldn’t be so put off by us. There wouldn't be any risk of getting caught stealing for a few credits out of someone’s pocket.

Kid glanced at me and shook his head, “If ya figure somethin’ out I’m open to suggestions, but until then, this is what works.”

I kicked a small pebble in the street and huffed. There wasn’t much more to say to that. We all needed to eat and I couldn’t fault him for resorting to the only means he knew how. It wasn’t his fault or any of the others that this was the situation they were in.

“Stay here, I’ll be back.” Kid said suddenly and in the next instant, he was disappearing into the crowd.

Diana had jumped over to my shoulder and rubbed up against my cheek before settling down. It was a comforting gesture and an attempt to convey what she could not put into words at that moment. It was so hard not to feel discouraged.

We didn’t wait long for Kid to turn up again. The grin on his face meant he’d been successful. We followed him into a nearby alley and he produced a wallet. After removing a handful of credits he tossed the billfold into a dumpster.

“Stash this in your pocket. I’ll try to be back with more,” he told me as he pressed the currency into my hands.

Kid made a few more passes while I hung around the alley with Diana. It was starting to look like the night cycle was about to begin when we made our way back to the hideout. Some of the other kids caught up with us along the way, I listened to them chatter about their day as we walked.

Sunny sidled up next to me and hooked her arm around mine, smiling. The smile was infectious and there was no resisting smiling back at her.

“Hi, Sunshine” I greeted.

“Hi.” She giggled, “Rabbit, would you tell us another story today. I wanna hear more about Sailor Moon.”

I nodded, “Yeah, I think that can be arranged.”

Her delighted squeal drew some of the other girls over. After that, things didn’t quite feel so bad... at least for that night.

  
  


À suivre...


	6. BANG! Raid at the Alliance Base

ACT ZERO FIVE | BANG! Raid at the Alliance Base  
Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe

The next day the atmosphere in the warehouse seemed different. Instead of leaving for their daily supply runs, the kids were still moving about the main bay. Navi was at the epicenter of it all, directing things in some sort of organized chaos.

Some of the kids were taking what little clothes they had and gathering them up for her in two separate piles. I could only guess that they were preparing to get the garments washed. Those that weren't going through clothes, were organizing supplies on some crude shelving. It looked like they were put together from scrap parts found lying around the warehouse.

Navi was too busy with everyone to even try to explain the madness going on. I wanted a chance to talk to her about my ideas so it was a matter of sticking close and picking the right moment. I sat in the thick of things taking my cues from her until the warehouse emptied out.

“Man am I glad that’s over.” Navi groaned, still looking frazzled as she carried one of the bags over to the entrance.

I picked up a second bag, prepared to continue helping, “Well, I’m in this with you so let me know what you need..”

She laughed, “Ya know, I think I’m starting to like you Rabbit. Come on, let’s go get these buckets filled. Sun, you coming?”

“Yep,” Sunshine chimed in.

It turned out that washing involved filling buckets with water and powdered detergents. We were going to wash everything by hand. Admittedly, I should have guessed what I signed myself up for. Washing and drying machines wouldn’t be available for a couple of street kids. These kids didn't even have the money to keep themselves properly fed much less for washing.

Navi handed Sunny and I each a bucket and the three of us made the trek to the business district. The girls knew that a few of the buildings had outdoor spigots for water so that was what we were aiming for. Once the buckets were filled we backtracked to the warehouse. Lugging the now heavy buckets was a chore in itself. I was incredibly relieved when we were finally able to set them down.

“Get the clothes,” Navi requested, “I’m going to put some soap in these buckets.”

I nodded and went on inside to get the bags. The water in the buckets was nice and sudsy by the time we split the clothes up and put them in to wash. Sitting on a couple of crates, Navi and I each took a bucket. We scrubbed the garments until they were as clean as we could get them. It took a good part of the morning by the time we finished and used the third bucket of clean water to rinse everything.

All that was left to do was to hang the rinsed clothing out to dry. Navi had a clothesline set up above us exactly for this purpose. Sunny rejoined us to help with the task of stringing everything up. As we worked I started to bring up my idea for making some honest cash by helping out around the neighborhood.

“I don’t know, Rabbit,” she admitted looking skeptical. “This isn’t exactly the best neighborhood and even here people look down on us street kids. They don’t exactly trust us either.”

Navi had a good point, but, the trust could be earned and we’d never know if we didn’t at least try. I said as much, but Navi still wasn’t coming around. She had no faith in the adults any more than the adults seemed to have for the kids.

“Yer sweet, Rabbit, but things aren’t that easy around here. You’ll learn,” she assured me.

“This isn't right,” I sighed softly. “I don’t understand how anyone can let this happen to children.”

“Damn right it’s not. There isn’t anything we can do to change it. It’s the war. People are dyin’. Families are fallin’ apart because the people in charge are too dumb to come up with a compromise. Solo does his best to take care of this crew. He made us a family and we stick together. This family right here is all we got.”

In the end, I got her to promise she would at least run the idea by Solo. The conversation dropped after that, leaving me a little deflated. I wanted to help, but life on the street was so new to me. It was hard to understand any of it. 

It took another hour at least before Navi rung out and hung the last t-shirt.

“And we’re done!” Navi exclaimed, blowing an unruly lock of her raven hair away from her face. “Thanks for staying to help us out. Would have taken another trip for the water if ya hadn’t come along.”

“Glad to be useful for something,” I replied.

“Hey,” she nudged, “ya did good today.”

“Yeah,” Sunny added, “I’m glad you’re here. You tell the best stories.”

I smiled at the pair. “Thanks, girls.”

Navi grinned and threw an arm around my shoulder, “I think it’s about time we took a break and had some food.”

We chatted the rest of the afternoon away, munching on some ration bars and swapping stories. I found I didn't much care for the ration bars, but it was better than nothing at all. When you find yourself hungry you start to rethink your preferences.

There wasn't much that I could safely contribute. I mean what was I supposed to tell them? I wasn’t sure that ‘Hey, I’m a princess that grew up in a castle from another universe where there is no war. My mother was a masked superhero and now she’s the Queen of Goddamn Everything.’ would go very well. While it was true, it sounded like some sort of fantasy novel.

It was entertaining nonetheless, I enjoyed listening to them. Thankfully neither commented on my lack of input. I decided to take my sketchbook and a pencil out of my bag. A rough sketch of the girls started to form once I put pencil to paper as the conversation continued around me. Unfortunately, I had been so distracted that I didn’t notice Kid come in behind me to look over my shoulder.

“That’s actually purty good,” he commented. His voice so close that it startled me. I jumped and the sketchbook tumbled out of my hands. It sent me scrambling after the book to shut it as quickly as possible.

“Kid!” I admonished, “Don’t sneak up on people like that!”

He snickered and shook his head, “You don’t gotta be so jumpy.”

“I’m a rabbit,” I deadpanned, crossing my arms over my chest, “I was born jumpy.”

That had all three of them laughing. 

When kid sobered enough to talk, he nodded toward Navi, “Solo wants to talk to ya.”

I glanced up at Solo’s usual perch and there he was. It almost looked like he was staring at me, but I suppose it could have been Navi he was watching. She was the one he was waiting for after all. It didn’t look like he cared that I’d just caught him watching us. Solo quirked a small smirk that caused me to blush and avert my gaze.

I took that moment to attempt hiding my sketchbook back into the depths of my bag. Sunny had still been paying attention and moved to snatch it from me. I quickly stood and held it aloft just barely out of her reach.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Navi and Kid walk away.  
I wondered about the sudden call for a meeting between them. Sunny tugging at my sleeve drew my attention back to the task at hand.

“Come on, please?” She whined, “I really want to see!”

I managed to keep the book away long enough to stuff it back into my bag and she pouted at me, looking defeated.

“Please?” She tried once more.

It was hard to resist her pout.

“Sunny, it is not finished yet. I'll show you later, okay?” I soothed.

“Oh, fine!” she huffed petulantly, “Will you at least help me pick the clothes off the line? Looks like Nav is busy and it’ll be dark soon.”

“You bet.” I agreed. I couldn’t help another glance at the trio who were now amidst a heated discussion. Navi wasn’t happy about something and I had to wonder what had gotten her upset so suddenly. I wasn’t sure if it was even my place to ask about it. Whatever it was, couldn’t be good…

The next day wasn’t quite as hectic, in fact, a few of the boys left unusually early. Kid was already gone when I woke up.

“Mornin’,” Navi greeted.

Replying in kind, I stretched and a yawn escaped me before I could help it.

“I was wondering if you wanted to try some of my older clothes. See if anything fits you. I’ve outgrown some stuff and you need something else to wear besides that one outfit. I don’t have a whole lot, but you are welcome to it.”

I wrinkled my nose and nodded. “Thank you, I wouldn’t mind a change of clothes. These need a serious wash.”

“Yeah, I wish I could have gotten to them yesterday but we needed to make sure you have something to change into first.

Navi had a pair of crates that she used as her own personal little cubbies. She pulled out a few garments and passed them over to me. There were a couple of shirts, a pair of jeans and some cargo shorts. They looked a little worn but were still functional.

I kind of stood there for a moment with the handful of clothes unsure of what to do with myself. I didn’t exactly want to change in the middle of the delivery bay of the warehouse and didn’t know where else to go.

“There is a bathroom down at the end of the hallway there. No running water or nothing, but at least you can change in private. I’m going to see if there is anything else I can dig up for you.”

“Great. Thanks again.”

Navi waved me off, “No need for thanks, Girlie. We’re family.”

The sentiment made me smile wistfully as I walked away to change. I tried out one of the t-shirts, a dark blue one with a logo I didn’t recognize. It felt a little snug so I shucked it off, set it aside and tried the next. This one was A two-tone heather gray and white, three-quarter sleeve henley. There was a pretty design of feathers drifting away across the front. The fit was a lot better so I paired it with the black cargo shorts which fit nicely as well.

The last t-shirt was simple, black with the words ‘smile more’ written in white. I tried it on with the blue jeans and both seemed to fit. I had to roll the cuff of the jeans up a bit to deal with the length but it wasn't that bad. In the end, I changed back into the cargo shorts with the henley and took the rest of the clothes back over to Navi.

“Everything fit okay?” she asked.

“Except this one shirt,” I responded, handing it back over to her.

Navi held it up, judging the size and concluded that one of the younger girls would grow into it. The shirt was folded up and placed back into her cubby.

“I found a sweater and another pair of jeans that look like they might be your size,” she added, handing the garments over to me. “These weren’t mine, but that girl won’t be coming back around here.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to cause any trouble.” I asked cautiously. The last thing I needed was another enemy in the crew. Finch was more than enough.

“Nah, Solo kicked Mila out when he found out she was selling herself to some guys at the Alliance base. Made her leave everything, but the clothes on her back. I’d never seen him that mad before.”

“She what?” I blurted stupidly, unsure if I’d understood her right. I could only imagine the look of horror on my face.

Navi shook her head at my naivety. “She broke one of Solo’s big rules. Your body is the one thing you shouldn’t sell no matter how big the offer. Hooking can get you dead. Sometimes it’s the one thing someone down on their luck has to give and they do it out of desperation. Mila came back one night with the side of her face all bruised up. When Solo found out what happened he made an example of her. She was booted from of the crew.”

“Wow.” I breathed still a little stunned.

How low would someone have to get to even consider it? I wondered. No one in the group was older than twelve. It made me sick to think of the soldiers taking advantage of a kid like that.

“It’s okay. Like I told you, Solo keeps us safe. He doesn’t have many rules, but the few he does have he takes very seriously.”

I didn’t even want to think about it anymore. I nodded and decided to change the subject. I was still curious about the heated discussion between Navi and Solo. The early morning disappearance of a few some of the boys only added to that. I had a sneaking suspicion that both incidents were related somehow.

“So where are the guys off to so early in the morning?” I ventured as I folded my ‘new’ clothes.

The expression on Navi’s place immediately soured. It took a moment before she volunteered anything on the subject. “They’re off on one of Solo and Kid’s hair-brained schemes. Such a damn stupid idea and I told em so. Solo is stubborn as a mule. Once he gets an idea in his head...”

She got cut off as a loud shout came from the entrance of the hideout. “Navi git over here!”

We both looked over at the commotion and immediately raced over to the five boys that were coming in.

“It hurts damn it!” Gizmo cried as soon as Navi and I were upon him.

Navi glared at Solo looking like a mother bear ready to tear into whoever hurt her cub. “What in the hell happened?”

Solo had the decency to look guilty. “The assholes freakin’ shot at us, that’s what.”

“Are you kidding me? I told ya it was a bad idea in the first place!” She growled. Navi was in his face jabbing a finger on his chest and shouting.

Knowing that Gizmo needed help and not wanting to be in the middle of that argument. I led him further into the warehouse and got him to sit down on one of the crates.

“Let me see, Gizmo,” I said gently.

He sniffled and finally stopped cradling his arm to let me assess the damage. Someone had ripped off a piece of their shirt and tied it around the wound to staunch the bleeding. It looked like there was a lot of blood but the wound itself wasn’t as bad as it looked. Apparently, the bullet only grazed him. There was no entry wound to suggest otherwise.

“How bad?” He asked. “It hurts like hell.”

“I don’t think it’s too bad,” I assured him as I handed the cloth back. “It looks like the bullet only grazed your arm. Here put this back on and keep the pressure on it. I’m going to go find something to get you cleaned up with.”

I jogged back over to the group. Solo and Navi were still bickering, but I interrupted unapologetically. I asked them if we had any first aid supplies and they all looked at me as if I were crazy.

“I’ll take that as a no.” I said in exasperation, “You mean to tell me we don’t have anything at all we can use if anyone gets hurt?”

“And where the heck do you think we’re gonna get stuff like that?” Finch grumped.

In unison, Solo and Navi both shouted at Finch to shut up. They turned to glare at each other one more time. Both turned away and crossed their arms like a pair of toddlers. I rolled my eyes at them and focused on Navi.

“Go. help. your. brother." I said punctuating each work. "I’m going to go get us what we need.”

Her eyes widened, realizing she had completely neglected Gizmo to argue with Solo.

“Shit!” she muttered before rushing off to look after him.

I didn’t stick around any longer than that. I was out of the entrance and halfway down the alley before anyone could think to come after me. At first, I wasn’t sure where I was going. The more I thought about it, the more Claire came to mind.

Claire was the only adult I knew that would be kind enough to help. I doubled back about two blocks and retraced my steps to her place hoping that I still remembered the way. I found myself running practically the rest of the way there. Finally, the familiar building came into view. I was relieved that I still remembered the apartment number.

She was at home, thank God, because I didn’t know anyone else to turn to. Claire opened the door and immediately her face took on a look of concern. She probably had not expected to see me ever again, let alone so soon.

“Rabbit? Is everything okay?” she asked in surprise, moving away from the door to let me in.

“It will be, but I need your help, please,” I said in a rush.

She nodded, “Okay. What can I do?”

“Do you happen to have any bandages? Maybe some disinfectant?” I asked.

“I should have some in my medicine cabinet. Is someone hurt?”

“A friend,” I replied. “It’s not bad but we need to patch him up.”

Claire disappeared into her bathroom and returned with a case of first aid supplies. She joined me at her breakfast table.

“Will any of this do?” She asked spreading the supplies from a med kit out in front of me.

There were disinfectant wipes, gauze, and bandages. To my utter relief, there was also a small package of butterfly stitches. I wasn’t sure if Gizmo would need actual stitches, but these would have to do if necessary. Knowing the crew, a hospital would be out of the question.

“Yes! This is exactly what we need.” I enthused, smiling gratefully and picking out the things we needed.

“You’re going to need a bag for all those. I’ll be right back.”

Claire returned with a paper bag where she had already packed a few things. Some bottles of water, orange juice, and a package of cookies.

“Your friend will need to eat and drink something.” She insisted even when I tried to tell her that the medical supplies were more than enough.

I decided not to argue and thanked her, apologizing for not being able to stay longer. I did promise that I would come by again soon to repay the favor somehow.

The trip back seemed to take a bit longer. I had to keep my pace at a slow jogged since I was carrying the package of supplies.

“Wow, look at that, bun-head actually came through.” Finch jeered. He was leaning against the wall by the entrance and hadn't moved since I left.

I ignored him and made my way over to Gizmo and Navi.

“You really did it,” Navi said in pure wonder...

I raised an eyebrow, “You expected any less? We can’t let him bleed to death.”

Gizmo whimpered at the mention of death and I turned my full attention to him. “Hey, buddy. It’s going to be fine now. We’re going to patch you right up."

I opened one of the bottles of juice that Claire had packed and handed it to him as a distraction. While he sipped at the cool refreshment, I starting to unpack the bandages. One of the water bottles and some gauze went to cleaning up the blood. The now mostly dried blood. I could see the wound properly now that it was not a bloody mess. It wasn’t bad enough to even need the butterfly stitches. I swabbed the area with a few of the alcohol swabs, then added some gauze and a bandage.

“Navi,” I said, getting her attention. “Remember that t-shirt I gave back to you? Could you get it? I want to try and use it as a sling.”

“Got it,” she said and rushed off to bring the garment I asked for.

I’d never made a sling before, but I figured I knew the mechanics enough to make an attempt. Navi he handed the t-shirt to me I ripped it open all the way down the middle. She helped me spread out and then fold the material into a triangle to make the sling. I fastened the ends around Gizmo’s neck and we helped him slip his arm inside. I made sure it was snug enough to keep his arm secure, yet remain comfortable.

“How does that feel?” I asked once we were finished.

“Better.” Gizmo replied, “I think.”

Navi looked at me in awe again after watching me work, “You are amazing.”

I felt my cheeks warm with embarrassment. “It’s nothing. I learned a thing or two from...well um...a friend.”

I had almost let slip that I learned from Ami. ‘Oh yeah, my mom’s best friend was a doctor’ was another one of those things I needed to keep to myself. This was my life now and it was no use to dredge stuff up.

“No, girly. That was definitely somethin'.” Navi said.

Now that Gizmo was set on the road to recovery, there was a certain pair of street rats that needed a good talking to. I excused myself from the siblings and hunted down our blond leader.

He and Kid were perched in the rafters, Solo’s usual place. I looked up at them, eyes narrowed and called them down.

“What in the world possessed you two to raid a military base?” I hissed.

Solo gave me a strange look and shrugged, “We’re gettin’ low on supplies. The base seemed like a sure thing. It gets steady resupply while the rest of L2 gets to starve or rot. At least we got what we went for. We have food for the next couple days.”

“Yeah well, you almost got Gizmo killed! And you can’t exactly feed the dead now can you?” I fired back doing a decent impression of Navi getting in his face.

“It wasn’t his fault!” Kid cut in.

We both turned to him in the same instant and in perfect unison told him to be quiet.

Neither of us gave ground and Solo was starting to look angry. I probably should have backed down, but I was invested in getting my point across. I don't back down from anything.

“Am I supposed to predict the future or something? How was I supposed to predict that those Alliance bastards were goin’ to shoot at a couple of kids? We weren’t supposed to get caught.”

The next thing I did probably wasn’t a very good idea either. I shoved him and just growled. “How about not being dumb enough to rob a God damn military base!”

The entire bay went quiet. All eyes were on us and the tension was so thick it could be cut through with a knife. Much to my amazement, Solo deflated and took a step back. I could see the guilt in his eyes now and in turn, it made me feel bad for yelling at him.

“I know,” he admitted. “It was my bad call and I gotta live with it.”

I wanted to say something. Every time I opened my mouth to try, I came up empty. Solo walked away and left the warehouse probably to go brood on some rooftop. I sighed and went to check on Gizmo who was now being comforted by a purring Diana sitting on his lap.

I knelt down in front of him and put the best smile I could muster on my face. “You doing okay?” I asked.

“Feel like I’m going to be pretty useless for a while, ” he confessed. “What am I gonna do without my other arm?”

“You are not useless,” I promised. “This is only temporary and I’ll help you with supper later.”

Things cooled down for the night. The barrel was rolled out and lit to provide a heat source for both warmth and cooking. Between the two of us, Gizmo and I got the job of getting everyone fed for the night done. The kids were all settled down with the small fare of canned goods. All except for one.

Solo hadn’t come back and as much as I wanted to be angry with him, there was a nagging sense of worry in the back of my mind. I finished the last bite of my food and wondered if I could sneak out without Navi noticing. I didn’t think she would let me leave since it was dark out already.

I waited. The kids were already down sleeping for the night and still no Solo. Even Diana was fast asleep curled beside Gizmo. I vacillated between settling down to sleep or breaking his rule for the second time that week.

My concern won out in the end and I snuck out. It wasn’t like there was anyone I could ask about his usual haunts at that time of night. There was only one place I could think of to check that might be of importance to him.

The walk to the spaceport was longer than expected and nerve-wracking. I jumped and speed up my pace at any little sound that started me. I kept my arms wrapped around myself for warmth and kept my senses on high alert the entire time. I bemoaned the lack of Diana’s company. At least she would have been able to watch my back.

I hoped to find him on that rooftop across from the spaceport when I got there. Low and behold some deity must have answered my prayers. Solo sat in the same spot, on the ledge that we’d been sitting together before. As I stepped over the fire escape onto the roof. I called out to him. I certainly didn’t want to scare him and cause an accident.

"You shouldn't be here," Solo said, glancing over his shoulder at me.

Despite his words, he sounded almost relieved. Solo patted the spot beside him and I sat down without a word. Together we watched one of the ships take off from the port.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered after a bit of time had elapsed.

He sighed. “It was really damn scary, Rabbit.”

“I know.”

“Maybe I don’t know what I’m doin’ here,” he confessed.

“We’re all just kids. Even the adults make mistakes. You’ve kept them safe this long.”

I rested my hand on his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “He’s okay, Solo. We’re all okay.”

He nodded and for the next few hours, we watched the spaceport and the stars, letting go of all the horrors of the day.

 

_À suivre..._


	7. The Cleanup Act

ACT ZERO SIX | The Cleanup Act  
Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe

I woke up early the next moment despite having been up half the night with Solo on the rooftop. It was time to keep my promise to Claire and see if there was anything she needed help doing. Keeping my promises had always been important to my parents. I fully intended to uphold the things they taught me.

Gizmo would be staying in the warehouse for the next couple of days. I figured it would be a good idea for Diana to stay behind with him. My cat seemed to be warming up to the boy and he was pretty fond of her. Once I was ready to go, I said my goodbyes and left the hideout for the day.

Claire was genuinely happy and relieved to see me when I knocked on her door. She surprised me with a very exuberant greeting and tight hug.

“I’m so glad you are here. I’ve been so worried about you and your friend.” Claire told me as she made way for me to enter her home.

“He's doing much better, thanks to you,” I assured her.

Claire smiled, "that's good to hear."

I proceeded to change the subject. I didn’t want her inquiring about what happened.

I explained that I came back to keep my promise to her and help her out for the day in anyway that I could. And wouldn’t you know it? Claire had been getting ready to go do her laundry.

_Oh, joy._

I had to repress a groan at the prospect of having to help with that particular chore again. It was a relief that Claire had saved up some change for the laundromat. At least, we wouldn't have to scrub things by hand.

I helped carry one of the baskets of clothes to the laundromat a few blocks down from her apartment. Claire selected a pair of washing machines that weren’t in use once we got there. Clothes and detergent were added before she slipped in a few coins to start it. We sat nearby to wait, idle chatter flowing between us.

I felt compelled to confide in her about my plan to help the crew make some credits the right way. Claire admitted that she liked my idea. She was actually quite impressed that I wanted to turn things around. On the flip side, she could see why Navi had her reservations. Trust was a hot commodity on L2.

“Tell you what though,” she said as we removed her clothes from the washer to switch them over. “If you bring one or two of your friends along, I can get you kids some supplies in return helping me out around the house. If the neighbors see some honest work being done they might be willing to do the same.”

Her words gave me hope in a way I hadn’t felt since I arrived. Had it been days? A whole week? I was starting to lose count of how long I've been living with the crew.

“You mean it?’ I asked still a little uncertain.

“I do. It’s admirable that you want to work. I’m putting my trust in you though. No troublemakers or thieves, otherwise, it will be hard to get anyone to give you kids a chance. Folks won’t come around right away but a with a little time and effort...” she trailed off.

“That means a lot, Claire. I won’t let you down. I really owe you for giving us this opportunity.”

“Oh, no honey. I only wish I could do more. I hate that this damn war has put so many kids on the street. A lot of people on L2 are suffering.”

We finished at the laundromat then went back to Claire’s for lunch. The meal was a simple fare of homemade tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. I never knew that something so mundane could taste so good. It was making me feel a little homesick for Makoto’s cooking.

Claire and I continued straightening up the apartment after we cleared the dishes. We even got around to put together a small shelf for her books. It felt like a productive day.

It was getting late in the afternoon by the time she packed another to-go package for me. This time it contained two thermoses of the tomato soup, a loaf of bread and a few more bottles of water. I noticed that she snuck a chocolate bar in the bag when she thought I wasn’t looking.

Claire walked me to the door, handing the carefully packed meal.

“You be careful out there, you hear me?” She warned, pulling me into a hug. “Don't forget to come and return those thermoses. I'm gonna need them back soon.”

“Will do!” I promised with a wave.

I was in better spirits when I left Claire. My good mood carried me all the way back to the warehouse humming a familiar little tune.

“That is some haul!” Navi exclaimed when I came into the bay carrying Claire's supplies, "Whatcha got?”

“This...” I began with a cheeky grin, “is the reward for helping people instead of stealing the things we need from them.

Navi crossed her arms and her lips quirked a smug grin. “Really? Well, let’s see the loot.”

We started unpacking things, the water bottles, soup, and bread. It started drawing the attention of some of the kids that had already made it back to the hideout. Navi nodded appreciatively, looking impressed with my accomplishments. I was smirking now too while I served up some of the still warm soup in the lid of the thermos for her.

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “It’s still warm! Is this homemade?’

“You bet,” I replied.

“Alright, Rabbit. Ya made yer point.” Navi conceded. “We’ll try things yer way.”

At that very moment, Solo strode over to see what was going on with Kid following closely behind.

“What’s all this?” he asked curiously.

I grinned and poured some more of the soup into the thermos cup, wordlessly handing it over to him.

Solo raised an eyebrow in question, but the smell of homemade soup was enticing. Any hesitation he might have had did not last very long.

“Oh man! Is this…” the blonde exclaimed, trailing off as he was unable to resist taking another sip.

“Homemade," I confirmed finishing the statement for him.

“Damn good is what it is.” Solo enthused.

I laughed and pulled off a piece of bread from the loaf Claire had packed. “Here, have the bread with it.”

One of the kids dug up some disposable bowls from somewhere and brought them over. I started filling the bowls up while Navi helped by making sure everyone got a piece of the bread to go with their soup. A can of diced chicken was produced for Diana too. No one was going to go hungry that night.

A more cheerful atmosphere had settled over the crew and it had felt damn good knowing that I made it happen. Everyone settled down to eat their food and I started to tell them about my day with Claire. Questions were asked, and I tried my best to elaborate. Explaining that she had provided the meal we were sharing in return for helping her out with some chores.

I wanted to introduce Navi and Sunny to Claire first, but it was nice to see a growing interest among the rest of the kids. They were talking about to trying to help around the market in exchange for supplies or a few credits. Getting cleaned up would make a world of difference. I would need to broach the subject with Claire to see if she could help them look at least half-way presentable.

The crew and I ended the evening with another story. I told them about the fiery priestess from Mars. She was the second guardian that Sailor Moon had been able to awaken. Enraptured by the tale, even Finch sat a little closer to the group than usual. He’d never admit that he cared to listen, but it seemed like Finch was enjoying himself as much as anyone. By the time the story ended, I had Red curled on my lap and Bug leaning against me on my right.

Navi looked at the two youngest fondly before picking the petite redhead off my lap. She moved Red over onto one of the empty burlap sacks next to her own and covered the little one with a blanket. Navi came back and did the same for Bug before settling down between the pair.

Yawning, I lay back on my own burlap. Folding my hands behind my head, I was smiling as I stared up at the rafters lost in my own thoughts. It had been a good day. I was going to make a difference. Regardless of what had brought me to this world, I was finally deciding my own future. My destiny was no longer hanging over my head and that was more freeing than I ever expected.

The next few days went on without too much incident. Navi and Sunny went with me to Claire’s where we did things around the house to make her day go by easier. Each time the woman sent us back to the hideout feed and with leftovers for the rest of the kids.

In the week that followed, I managed to ask Claire about getting the kids to look more presentable. She promised to help get them washed up and give a couple of them haircuts after her shift at work. There wasn’t a whole lot we could do about the state of our clothes until we saved up a few credits. At least it was a step in the right direction.

As we introduced more of the kids to Claire, she began getting them involved in the neighborhood. One of our boys got a job helping a mother whose husband was away at war. She needed to have a few kitchen cabinets repaired along with a few other odds and ends. The woman was grateful for the help and we ate well for a couple of days that week.

My idea was beginning to take off. The crew felt more emboldened by the success in Claire's neighborhood. I was sure that the market would yield more opportunities along with better profit.

I brought the boys by for haircuts, but there was no convincing Kid to let anyone touch his beloved long hair. It was difficult to even get him to sit still long enough to wash it. Claire had to promise him a whole chocolate bar for that feat.

We were finally ready for a test run of the market and it became a disaster, to say the least. The kids were as cleaned up as we could get them with Claire's help and our limited supplies. Unfortunately, it did not seem to make any difference.

That first day the kids split up and tried to talk to the busier vendors. All but one were turned away. The rest were threatened before they could even explain themselves. The one person who did manage to make a deal with a shopkeeper was surprisingly Finch.

The owner was an older woman who sold grains like rice and flour in large bulk sacks. She had no one to help move the merchandise. Being a decent sized and sturdy preteen it was not a difficult task for him. She promised him at least 10 credits a day depending on how business turned out.

It was one of those right place, at the right time type of thing. The way Finch tells it, he had been about to give up and decided the old woman’s shop would be his last stop. If he came up with nothing, Finch was going to back to what he knew best. The owner was struggling with a large sack of something when Finch walked in. The customer at the counter made no move to help, choosing instead to wait impatiently with a scowl on his face.

Without thinking Finch had moved in to help her. He nearly scared the lady out of her wits thinking Finch was going to run off with goods. Instead, he threw the sack over his shoulder and carried it over to the counter for her. After the sale was complete Finch had her gratitude and a few hours of honest work which he seemed to be quite proud of. Not that he’d confess that to anyone either.

Finch’s success was a small victory. None of the other vendors seemed as sympathetic as the elderly grain shopkeeper. It was heartbreaking to watch their hopeful faces crumble. There was a serious lack of compassion in the people of L2. I didn't know if there was any other way to motivate the kids into trying again.

People seemed so disillusioned on L2. They needed hope, something that they probably hadn’t seen in years. Even the children were starting to feel the despair and I don't mean just street kids. A veil of hopelessness had spread throughout the colony. It didn't look like there was a way to reverse the effects.

My failure to help my new friends left a bitter taste in my mouth. I wondered what my mother would have done differently. This led me to feel sorry for myself because I could never measure up to her. Nothing I did was ever good enough. We always had a very complicated love and hate relationship. While I had grown to idolize her, I resented the fact that she was placing the burden of succeeding her in the future. I didn’t have any choice in how I might have wanted to live my life.

I didn’t sit with the crew that night. I wanted to be alone with my own thoughts and brood. If I couldn’t do things the honest way then it was time that I joined them instead. Could I bring myself to ignore my morals and steal from someone? The thought was daunting, but was there a way to curb the guilt?

_Yes. Yes, there was._

Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Didn’t they steal from the rich and give to the poor? I didn’t have to steal from the rich. There were enough shady creeps in the underbelly of L2. I could teach them some justice and make a little money while I was at it. Sailor Moon would have a purpose again even if it wasn’t fighting evil alien baddies.

I pretended to go to sleep. Once things quieted down for the evening I dared to open my eyes to see if everyone had indeed settled for bed. It was hard to tell in the darkness, but by the sounds of it, there was a good chance the coast was clear. I moved and Diana stirred. I hadn’t noticed her come over to curl up beside me. Maybe I had dozed off after all.

Her glittering eyes narrowed at me in warning, “And where did you think you were going?”

Her voice came to me in a hissed whisper even though there was very little chance anyone could see her talking.

“Um...would you believe I was going to go on a crusade for justice? You know… battle evil, save the innocent and all that jazz.”

“You’re a worse liar than the queen and that is no easy feat.” she hissed again.

I moved to get up anyway, and in a tone dripping with sarcasm I replied, “Well, yet another thing I can thank mother for. I cannot tell a good lie to save my own life.”

“Go to sleep, Usa!” She warned.

“Sure. As soon as I get back.” I promised.

“It’s dangerous!”

“Sailor Moon can handle a couple of punks. I’ve fought worse than the scum bags in this colony.”

Diana let out a familiar huff, the kind that usually meant she was giving in. “Then I’m coming with you.”

“Great, lead the way,” I said. “You can see in the dark much better than I can.”

I could barely make out her silhouette as she moved silently toward the entrance. I followed in her wake hoping that I was able to sneak about as like she could. For a cat sneaking about was easy and natural. The same couldn’t be said about me. I never could tell when I would have another klutz attack just like my mother

We did manage to get out of the warehouse without incident. I sought somewhere private enough to transform. The transformation provided a mask again and this time my sailor uniform was in shades of grey and black.

“Is this normal?” I asked Diana who seemed as dumbfounded as I was.

She shook her head. “I’ve never seen anything like this happen before.”.

I had to wonder if my crystal could predict my need for the mask and blending in. Mother had never mentioned anything like this happening before. There was no time to waste contemplating the crystal’s curious new abilities. Instead, I took to the rooftops to observe the even seedier denizens of L2 stir up the nightlife.

A few hours passed as I wandered in the shadows watching the dregs of L2 stalk their innocent prey. The prey being the poor souls that ventured into the night out of necessity. This was the time that people would scurry back home to safety. before the night could swallow them whole and spit them back out. The night that Sunny almost got raped was still fresh in my mind. I had a funny feeling that the later it got the more dangerous these predators would become.

I had to have been sitting on that roof for over an hour by the time I spotted him. It was the same piece of work that attacked Sunny. If anyone deserved the wrath of justice it was him. I caught Diana’s eye and pointed him out on the street. He wasn’t alone so I followed from above. Eventually, he and his pal split off and my target turned into an alley. The man was probably taking a shortcut to get home.

_This was my chance._

I removed my tiara and let it fly hoping to hit him soundly enough in the back of the head to knock him out. My weapon hit its mark and he stumbled, hitting his head with the raised ladder of a fire escape. Down he went like a sack of potatoes. I climbed down the ladder and cautiously approached him.

He looked like he was out for the count. Once I stood over him, I steeled myself before searching his pockets. I came up with his wallet and felt pretty good about myself when it yielded about fifty credits. I tucked the money away and prepared to leave.

What I didn’t notice, was that my victim had opened his eyes. He grabbed my leg before I could react fast enough. Then the rapist yanked me hard, pulling me to the ground. I kicked out at him with my free leg and managed to scramble away, but he was getting up now. This man was a very impressive height. Shoulders as broad as an Ox compared to my not even four foot tall, petite frame. I was about to be in some very serious trouble.

Both my heart and mind were racing in sync. Scared to death, I tried to think of something, anything at all that would get me out of that situation. The closer he got the more I could smell the alcohol and cigarette smoke on him as he grinned at me nastily.

“It’s you again!” He said in an amused tone. “You interrupted my fun the other night but you’ll make up for that right here and now, girl. We’re going to have ourselves a good time!”

_À suivre..._


End file.
